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THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


We 

Christian  Reformed  Church 

IN  NORTH  AMERICA 

ITS  HISTORY,  SCHOOLS,  MISSIONS,  CREED  AND 
LITURGY,  DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND 
PRACTICES  AND  ITS  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT 


BY 

Dr.  HENRY  BEETS 


EASTERN  AVENUE  BOOK  STORE 
GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH. 

1923 


Copyrighted,  1924,  by  Henry  Beets 


Presented  to 


On  the  occasion  of 

By . 

Place . 


Date 


I 


Foreword 


“ THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH,  its  His- 
tory,  Schools,  Missions ,  Creed  and  Liturgy,  distinctive 
Principles  and  Practices,  and  its  Church  Government”, 
was  written  with  the  distinct  purpose  of  enabling  our 
people,  particularly  our  young  people,  to  know  and  to 
appreciate  their  denomination,  and  willingly  to  devote 
their  prayers,  their  means,  and  their  services  to  the  pro¬ 
motion  of  its  highest  and  best  interests  and  the  carrying 
out  of  its  mission ,  to  the  coming  of  God’s  Kingdom,  to 
the  praise  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  men. 

Just  like  the  true  religion  involves  knowing,  loving, 
and  serving  the  true  God,  so  we  believe  that  the  proper 
kind  of  church  membership  requires  that  we  know  the 
Church  we  belong  to,  its  right  to  exist,  its  principles,  and 
its  activities,  that  we  love  it  properly  and  consecrate  to  it 
and  to  its  work,  its  preservation  and  extension,  such  con¬ 
tributions  as  grace  enables  us  to  make. 

If,  in  order  to  prove  our  right  to  exist,  parts  of  Chap¬ 
ter  II  are  somewhat  polemical  and  apologetical  in  charac¬ 
ter,  such  was  demanded  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  is 
in  nowise  meant  as  speaking  disparagingly  of  a  respected 
sister  denomination .  We  particularly  disclaim  responsi¬ 
bility  for  the  harsh  statements  and  sweeping  indictments 
of  the  Reformed  Church  occasionally  made  by  overly- 
zealous  champions,  and  also  found  in  the  LETTER  which 
we  give  as  Appendix  I,  as  a  long  lost  historical  document 
which  we,  during  the  summer  of  1923,  discovered  in  the 


Netherlands.  (“De  Wackier ”,  October  2k,  1923.)  The 
Letter  seems  to  reveal  the  authorship  of  the  “Andrew 
Jackson”  of  our  early  history — Chapter  111,  §k. 

This  volume  will,  we  trust,  be  useful  as  a  textbook  for 
study  in  Societies  of  various  kinds,  (for  that  purpose  we 
gave  review  questions  and  references),  as  well  as  for 
reading  purposes  and  for  reference,  as  a  “ Manual ”  or 
“ Handbook ”  of  our  Church.  With  a  view  to  that  last- 
named  aim  we  furnish  a  full  Index  of  names,  and  we  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  maps  will  also  prove  useful.  We  are  in¬ 
debted  to  Dr.  L.  S.  Huizenga  for  the  map  of  the  Chinese 
Mission  and  the  article  on  the  China  work ;  to  the  well 
known  historian  Rev.  J.  C.  Rullmann  of  Utrecht,  for 
valuable  ideas  as  to  the  services  of  Drs.  Kuyper  and  Ra¬ 
vi  nek,  to  Prof.  Dr.  H.  Bouwman  of  Kampen,  for  matters 
pertaining  to  Church  Polity ,  and  to  Dr.  S.  Volbeda  for 
carefully  going  over  the  first  two  chapters  and  making 
various  suggestions  improving  their  contents. 

Mr.  D.  Lam  of  the  Independent  Art  Studio,  Grand 
Rapids,  helped  us  greatly  in  perfecting  the  China  map, 
and  the  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink  in  bringing  the  Indian  map  up 
to  date. 

In  the  paragraphs  devoted  to  the  Christian  School, 
friends  of  the  cause  whose  writings  on  the  subject  helped 
us,  are  mentioned  by  name. 

Finally  we  thank  all  brethren  who  encouraged  us  with 
advance  orders,  and  above  all  do  we  ascribe  praise  to  our 
gracious  Lord  who  gave  sufficient  time  and  strength  to 
finish  this  work — a  labor  of  love — to  which  we  gladly  de¬ 
voted  the  spare  time  of  many  years . 

HENRY  BEETS. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Thanksgiving,  1923. 


CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 

ACROSS  THE  SEA 

Introductory:  Why  the  Study  of  Denominational  History.  §1.  Our 
Pagan  Ancestors  and  their  Condition.  §2.  Missionaries  Among 
Them.  §3.  Impurity  of  the  Church  they  Planted.  §4.  The 
Reformation:  Its  Forerunners,  Leaders,  Principles,  and  Grounds. 
§5.  The  Reformation  in  the  Netherlands.  §6.  The  Reformed 
Church  of  Holland:  Its  Construction,  Systematization  and  Cor¬ 
ruption.  §7.  The  Secession  Movement:  Its  Grounds  and  its 
Adherents.  §8.  Emigration  to  the  United  States :  Objections  to 
it;  Settlements,  Spirit,  and  Objectives  of  our  Pioneers. 

INTRODUCTORY:  WHY  THE  STUDY  OF  DENOMINATIONAL 

HISTORY 

HISTORY  is  a  systematic  record  of  past  events.  Church 
history  describes  the  events  intimately  connected 
with  the  visible  Church  of  Christ  as  an  historical  phenom¬ 
enon,  an  organization  with  its  office-bearers,  services,  ac¬ 
tivities,  and  ideals.  The  visible  Church  may  be  defined  as 
a  formal  organization  consisting  of  all  those  throughout 
the  world  who  profess  their  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  obedience  to  His  Word,  together  with  their  children. 
A  denomination  indicates  a  particular  group  of  Christians, 
with  a  distinct  history,  creed,  form  of  worship,  govern¬ 
ment,  etc. 

Why  the  study  of  denominational  history?  First,  to 
help  the  people  belonging  to  a  distinct  denomination  to 
know  and  evaluate  the  religious  heritage  conferred  upon 


10 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


them  by  their  ancestors,  the  principles  they  stood  for, 
clung  to,  and  bequeathed. 

Second:  such  a  study  tends  to  weld  together  in  one 
brotherhood  the  various  congregations  of  such  a  denom¬ 
ination,  scattered  far  and  wide,  so  that  a  distance-over¬ 
coming  spirit  of  oneness  may  be  created  or  strengthened, 
and  efficient  co-operation  is  possible,  to  reach  goals  set 
before  the  group. 

Third:  such  a  study  assists  to  avoid  pitfalls  in  which 
these  ancestors  may  have  fallen,  to  the  loss  of  precious 
principles,  or  at  least  to  the  obscuring  of  the  vision  of  the 
God-assigned  task. 

Fourth:  denominational  history  properly  studied, 
brings  out  that  a  denomination  is  only  a  part  of  the  one 
Catholic  Church  of  God,  and  cannot  and  should  not  lead  a 
life  of  harmful  isolation.  As  Dr.  H.  Bavinck  put  it: 
“Every  sect  which  considers  its  own  group  the  only  Church 
of  Christ,  in  exclusive  possession  of  the  truth,  dries  up  and 
dies  as  a  branch  torn  from  its  trunk.” 

Finally:  such  a  study  is  instrumental  in  showing  that 
no  Church  has  yet  reached  its  goal  and  realized  its  ideals. 
The  Church  on  earth,  during  this  dispensation,  is  and 
should  be  a  “militant”  or  fighting  Church,  never  resting  on 
the  laurels  of  past  victories.  It  should  be  an  Army,  ever 
on  the  move,  till  Christ  be  “Lord  of  all.”  (Compare  Chap¬ 
ter  V,  §  9.) 

§1.  OUR  PAGAN  ANCESTORS  AND  THEIR  CONDITIONS 

The  ancestral  home  of  our  people  is  the  Netherlands 
and  adjacent  regions,  East  Friesland  and  Bentheim,  in 
northwestern  Europe.  Our  forebears  were  pagans  long 
after  Christianity  had  been  planted  in  southern  Europe  by 
the  Apostle  Paul  and  others.  In  common  with  all  their 
Teutonic  kindred  peoples,  our  ancestors  were  polytheists, 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


11 


worshiping  many  gods.  Wodan  or  Odin,  was  their  chief 
divinity  after  whom  Wednesday  is  still  named.  They  also 
paid  divine  honor  to  Wodan’s  son  Thor,  the  god  of  thun¬ 
der,  of  war,  and  of  agriculture,  after  whom  Thursday  was 
called,  while  our  Friday  reminds  of  Frigga,  Wodan’s  wife, 
the  goddess  of  marriage.  Two  other  days  of  the  week, 
Sunday  and  Monday,  show  that  the  sun  and  moon,  after 
which  they  were  named,  also  received  homage.  Our  fore¬ 
fathers  worshiped  their  gods  in  the  depths  of  their  great 
forests,  under  large  trees,  considered  sacred,  and  at  times 
human  sacrifices  were  slain  on  huge  stone  altars.  While 
the  ancient  Germanic  peoples  possessed  several  virtues, 
such  as  love  of  liberty,  bravery,  chastity,  and  hospitality, 
their  lives  were  defiled  by  such  vices  as  drunkenness, 
gambling,  and  cruelty  towards  prisoners  of  war.  They 
believed  strongly  in  sorcery  and  witchcraft,  in  omens,  in 
spooks,  and  werwolves. 

§2.  MISSIONARIES  AMONG  THEM 

Up  to  about  the  year  600  after  Christ,  our  forefathers 
remained  pagans.  Then  the  set  time  of  God’s  favor  ar¬ 
rived.  From  France  and  Great  Britain  missionaries  of  the 
Christian  religion,  such  as  they  knew  it,  arrived  to  ac¬ 
quaint  our  ancestors  with  Christianity.  From  France 
came  Amand,  whose  king,  Dagobert  I,  in  the  year  630  or 
632,  erected  a  Christian  chapel  on  the  place  now  occupied 
by  the  famous  cathedral  of  the  city  of  Utrecht,  in  the  heart 
of  the  Netherlands.  Later  on  Eloi  of  Eligius,  at  one  time 
bishop  of  Noyon,  in  France,  brought  the  gospel  to  the 
people  of  Zeeland  and  Friesland.  At  times  he  suffered 
severely  for  his  witnessing  for  Christ.  From  Great  Britain 
came  Wilfred,  a  monk  and  a  bishop,  in  677  cast  by  a  storm 
upon  the  Friesian  coast.  He  labored  with  success,  baptiz¬ 
ing  the  ruler  of  the  country,  Adgild,  and  thousands  of  his 
people.  But  he  remained  only  one  year  in  Friesland.  The 


12 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


real  apostle  of  the  Friesians  was  Wilfred’s  disciple  Willi- 
brord,  who,  with  twelve  fellow-missionaries  from  Great 
Britain,  began  work  in  Frankish  Frisia  in  690.  Six  years 
later  he  became  archbishop  of  the  Friesians,  with  his  resi¬ 
dence  in  Utrecht.  Boniface,  the  apostle  of  central  Ger¬ 
many,  likewise  a  British  monk,  also  labored  diligently  to 
bring  about  the  conversion  of  our  ancestors,  not  alone 
during  the  early  part  of  his  life,  716,  but  also  at  its  close, 
sealing  his  ministry  among  our  people  with  his  death  as  a 

martyr,  June  5,  755,  near  the  Friesian  town  of  Dokkum. 

* 

Many  others  of  less  renown  devoted  years  of  labor  to¬ 
ward  the  christianizing  of  the  Netherlands  and  adjacent 
territory,  among  them  Ludger,  a  native  Friesian,  who 
preached  the  gospel  to  many  people  in  Friesland,  Gronin¬ 
gen,  and  Westphalia. 

§3.  IMPURITY  OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH 

But  the  Christianity  these  men  brought  was  not  that  of 
the  New  Testament  in  its  simplicity  and  purity.  It  was  the 
Roman  type  of  church  life  and  that  meant  three  kinds  of 
serious  departure  from  Bible  precept  and  example.  In 
the  first  place  unscriptural  doctrines  were  taught.  They 
were  the  placing  of  tradition  (overlevering)  on  equal  foot¬ 
ing  with  the  written  Word  of  God,  justification,  in  part  at 
least,  by  works,  and  transubstantiation,  i.e.,  the  doc¬ 
trine  that  the  bread  of  Communion  changes  into  the  body 
of  our  Lord,  and  its  wine  into  His  blood.  The  claim  that 
besides  a  heaven  and  a  hell  there  is  a  purgatory  beyond 
the  grave,  and  the  demand  of  submission  to  the  pope  and 
his  hierarchy  (priest-rule),  also  involved  false  doctrines. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Christianity  brought  to  our 
fathers  involved  unscriptural  practice s,  such  as  the  with¬ 
holding  of  the  communion  cup  from  the  ordinary  church- 
members,  the  laity,  (so-called  in  distinction  from  the 
clergy  or  priests) ;  the  invocation  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


13 


of  the  saints,  the  use  of  images  as  books  for  the  laity,  and 
severe  restrictions  as  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  the 
vernacular.  In  the  third  place  there  were  serious  abuses 
which  had  crept  into  the  Church,  such  as  the  sale  of  of¬ 
fices  and  indulgences,  immorality  of  the  priesthood,  and  the 
instituting  of  the  Inquisition  to  compel  the  people  by  cruel 
tortures  to  submit  to  the  popes  and  their  creed. 

§4.  THE  REFORMATION:  ITS  FORERUNNERS,  LEADERS, 

PRINCIPLES  AND  GROUNDS 

In  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  opposition  to 
these  things,  considerably  aided  by  social  conditions,  and 
influenced  by  a  Revival  of  Learning,  led  to  the  Reforma¬ 
tion ,  a  great  religious  movement,  which  purified  the 
Church. 

Forerunners  of  the  Reformation  were  such  men  as 
the  German  Tauler,  the  Englishman  Wycliff,  the  Bohe¬ 
mian  Hus,  the  Italian  Savonarola,  and,  particularly,  in  the 
Netherlands,  an  organization  called  “the  Brethren  of  the 
Common  Life”,  which  included  the  eloquent  John  Brug- 
man,  the  learned  Wessel  Gansfort,  called  “Lux  Mundi” 
(Light  of  the  World),  and  Thomas  a  Kempis,  famous  as 
the  author  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ.  Later  on  three  men 
became  known  as  the  great  Reformers:  Luther,  Zwingli, 
and  Calvin. 

Martin  Luther  was  a  German,  born  in  1483.  After 
many  soul  struggles  he  found  peace  for  his  troubled  con¬ 
science  in  the  great  doctrine  of  the  justification  of  a  sin¬ 
ner  before  God  in  the  way  of  faith  alone.  He  boldly  pro¬ 
claimed  this,  rallying  many  of  the  German  princes  as  well 
as  hosts  of  the  common  people  around  him.  He  died  in 
1546. 

Ulrich  Zwingli  (1484 — 1531),  was  a  Swiss  priest,  who 
through  study  of  the  Bible  was  led  step  by  step,  to  break 


14 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


away  from  Rome’s  errors  in  doctrine  and  practice  and 
who  obtained  a  considerable  following  in  Zurich  and  other 
cantons  of  his  native  land.  (Cf.  Chapter  VIII,  §4.) 

John  Calvin  (1509 — 1564),  was  a  Frenchman,  born  in 
Noyon.  He  studied  law  and  theology  and  was  preparing 
for  the  priesthood  when  converted  to  Protestantism.  Most 
of  his  life  as  a  Reformer  was  spent  in  the  Swiss  city  of 
Geneva.  His  chief  work,  The  Institutes  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Religion,  is  the  great  literary  monument  of  the 
Reformation. 

In  the  great  struggle  to  purify  or  “reform”  the  Church, 
three  great  principles  were  enunciated.  They  have  be¬ 
come  the  fundamentals  of  Protestantism,  the  grounds  of 
the  Reformation. 

The  first,  or  objective  principle,  affirms  that  the  Bible 
is  the  supreme  and  infallible  rule  of  our  faith  and  prac¬ 
tice.  The  second,  or  subjective  principle  of  Protestantism, 
is  that  we  are  justified  before  God  by  a  true  and  living 
faith,  without  any  merits  of  ours,  merely  of  grace.  The 
third  Reformation  principle  is  called  the  social  one. 
Christ  is  the  King  of  the  Church,  and,  subject  to  Him,  all 
believers  are  of  equal  spiritual  rank.  This  involves  the 
general  priesthood  of  believers,  the  right  to  interpret  the 
Bible,  and  to  share  in  the  government  of  the  Church. 
(Cf.  Chapter  X,  §2.) 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  in  these  principles  are  in¬ 
volved  a  protest  against  what  we  named  in  §3,  speaking  of 
the  impurity  of  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  as  to  doc¬ 
trine  and  practice.  The  Roman  Church  was  manifesting 
in  these  matters,  defended  and  maintained  with  might  and 
main,  even  with  recourse  to  the  cruelest  measures,  its  seri¬ 
ous  departure  from  the  original  purity  of  the  early  Church 
as  founded  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles.  To  put  it  in 
other  words,  the  papal  organization  no  longer  revealed 
what  our  fathers  later  on  described  as  “the  marks  by 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


15 


which  the  true  Church  is  known :  if  the  true  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel  is  preached  therein;  if  she  maintains  the  pure 
administration  of  the  Sacraments  as  instituted  by  Christ; 
if  Church  discipline  is  exercised  in  the  punishing  of  sin; 
in  short,  if  all  things  are  managed  according  to  the  pure 
Word  of  God,  and  all  things  contrary  thereto  rejected  and 
Jesus  Christ  acknowledged  as  the  only  Head  of  the 
Church.”  (Confession,  Article  29.)  We  shall  see  that 
these  marks  as  grounds  for  reformatory  action  figure  later 
on  in  the  history  we  are  giving. 

§5.  THE  REFORMATION  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS 

While  all  the  Reformers  were  a  unit  on  the  principles 
we  named  above,  there  soon  appeared  considerable  differ¬ 
ence  mong  them  regarding  minor  points,  particularly  con¬ 
cerning  the  Lord’s  Supper,  and  to  some  extent  also  with 
reference  to  church  government.  Those  who  followed 
Martin  Luther  in  his  conception  of  the  matters  at  issue, 
became  known  as  Lutherans.  Their  churches  are  found  in 
Germany,  Scandinavia,  and  throughout  the  world.  The 
followers  of  Calvin  and  Zwingli  formed  the  Reformed 
churches  of  Christendom.  The  Church  of  our  fathers 
across  the  sea  belongs  to  the  last-named  family  of 
denominations. 

Not  all  of  the  Dutch  people,  however,  became  Re¬ 
formed  or  Calvinistic.  Many  remained  Roman  Catholics. 
Quite  a  number  of  Netherlander  became  Lutherans,  espe- 
cilly  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  Reformation  period, 
but  Lutheranism  never  was  strong  in  Holland.  At  one 
time,  1531 — 1560,  there  were  many  Anabaptists  in  the 
Netherlands.  Anabaptism  has  been  called  the  “radical 
Reformation”.  It  rejected  infant  baptism  along  with  the 
abuses  of  Rome  which  all  the  Reformers  condemned  and 
discarded.  At  one  time  some  of  the  Anabaptists  tried  to 
establish  a  visible  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  city  of  Munster. 


16 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Bitterly  persecuted  at  times,  the  scattered  Anabaptists 
were  reorganized  later  on  by  the  Friesian  ex-priest  Menno 
Simons,  after  whom  the  Mennonites  in  the  Old  as  well  as 
in  the  New  World  call  themselves.  At  about  1560  the  Cal¬ 
vinists  became  predominant  in  the  Netherlands,  although 
during  the  first  decade  or  two  of  the  Eighty  Years’  War 
between  Holland  and  Spain  (1568 — 1648),  they  formed 
only  one-tenth  part  of  the  entire  population  of  the  Nether¬ 
lands.  Calvinism  obtained  a  foothold  in  Holland  not  alone 
because  the  Dutch  as  well  as  the  Scotch  are  adapted  tem¬ 
peramentally  for  the  stern  type  of  religion  Calvin  stood 
for,  but  also  because  fiery  preachers  of  Calvinism  went  up 
and  down  the  Low  Countries  to  proclaim  the  Reformed  re¬ 
ligion.  Some  of  these  heralds  of  Calvinism  were  native 
Netherlanders,  others  came  from  what  is  now  called  Bel¬ 
gium,  among  them  Petrus  Dathenus,  born  1531,  formerly  a 
monk.  He  versified  the  Psalms  and  translated  the  Heidel¬ 
berg  Catechism,  which  had  been  prepared  by  the  German 
scholars  Ursinus  and  Olevianus,  at  that  time  living  in  Hei¬ 
delberg  in  the  Palatinate,  southern  Germany,  and  which 
had  appeared  in  1563  (Chapter  VIII,  §1).  Another 
preacher  of  Belgian  birth,  Guy  de  Bray,  exerted  a  strong 
influence  on  the  Reformation  in  the  Netherlands  through 
the  “Belgian  Confession”,  of  which  he  was  the  author. 
(Chapter  VIII,  §2.) 

§6.  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  HOLLAND 

Out  of  the  stress  and  struggle  of  an  Eighty  Years’  War 
with  all  its  horrors,  there  arose  in  the  Netherlands  the  Re¬ 
formed  Church,  the  old  Church  of  our  Fathers,  of  the 
Calvinistic  faith  (see  Chapter  IX,  §1),  and  of  the  Presby¬ 
terian  order  of  church  government.  The  Synods  which 
prepared  or  perfected  the  organization  of  this  Church  and 
developed  a  Church  Order,  were  held  at  Wesel,  1568;  Em- 
den,  1571;  Dordrecht,  1574  and  1578;  Middelburg,  1581, 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


17 


and  The  Hague,  1586.  At  the  great  National  Synod  of 
Dordrecht,  held  in  1618-T9,  the  Church  Order  received  its 
final  form,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  and  the  Belgian  Con¬ 
fession  were  revised,  and  the  Canons  of  Dordrecht  were 
promulgated  to  be  a  part  of  the  standards  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  or  the  Formulas  of  Unity  (see  Chapter  VIII) .  For 
Church  Government  and  Church  Order,  see  Chapter  X. 

But  the  Reformed  Church  of  the  Netherlands  did  not 
long  maintain  the  high  standard  of  doctrinal  purity  ex¬ 
pressed  in  its  creed,  nor  did  its  membership  perpetuate 
the  heroic  “Golden  Age”  of  wonderful  enterprise  and 
achievement  politically,  and  of  noble  zeal  for  religion,  not 
alone  for  the  Church  at  home,  but  also  for  heathen  peoples 
far  away,  as  shown  in  attempts  to  evangelize  the  natives  of 
the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

The  history  of  the  Church  usually  goes  through  a  cycle 
of  four  distinct  periods.  First  there  is  construction,  then 
systematization,  then  corruption,  and  finally  in  the  good 
providence  of  God,  restoration.  Such  marked  the  life  of 
the  Christian  Church  before  the  Reformation,  and  this 
cycle  also  appears  in  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  our  Fathers. 

The  construction  period,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
Eighty  Years’  War  till  the  great  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  1618- 
1619,  was  followed  by  that  of  systematization ,  when 
learned  theologians  worked  out  the  great  principles  of 
Calvinism  as  a  religious  system.  We  name  as  the  most 
important  of  them  Gysbert  Voet  or  Voetius  (1588 — 1676), 
famous  as  a  theologian  and  as  an  authority  on  church 
government;  Petrus  van  Mastricht,  (1630 — 1706);  W.  a 
Brakel,  (1635 — 1711) ;  Johannes  a  Marck,  (1655 — 1731) ;  A. 
Hellenbroek,  (1658 — 1731);  and  A.  Francken,  (1676 — 
1743).  These  men  belonged  to  what  was  called  the 
Voetian  school  of  theologians,  as  opposed  to  the  Cocceian 
school,  composed  of  followers  of  John  Cocceius,  (1603  — 


18 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


1669),  who  emphasized  the  Covenant  idea  in  theology,  but 
whose  views  of  Bible  interpretation  and  Sabbath-keeping 
were  considered  departures  from  Reformed  truth.  F.  A. 
Lampe,  (1683— 1729),  was  a  gifted  theologian  who  laid 
stress  on  experimental  religion,  and  so  did  writers  like  the 
Teelincks  and  P.  Immens  and  others. 

But  even  while  this  constructive  and  systematizing 
work  was  going  on,  alarming  signs  of  corruption  were 
seen.  James  Arminius  and  his  followers  tried  to  eviscerate 
the  Calvinistic  creed  by  erroneous  views  about  predestina¬ 
tion,  atonement,  conversion,  and  other  doctrines.  Their 
errors  were  condemned  and  erring  ministers  who  were  un¬ 
willing  to  recant  or  remain  silent,  were  exiled  as  a  result 
of  the  decisions  of  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  1618-T9, 
(Chapter  VIII,  §3).  But  the  spirit  of  liberalism  was  not 
killed.  About  the  year  1648  the  corruption  period  of  the 
Dutch  Church  opened.  Rationalism  started  to  poison  the 
minds  of  many,  worldliness  conquered  still  more  of  the  Re¬ 
formed  people  of  Holland,  while  some  of  its  truly  pious 
people  were  falling  into  the  extreme  of  Labadism — a  very 
subjective  type  of  religion  fathered  by  a  certain  John  de 
la  Badie,  formerly  a  French  priest,  later  a  clergyman  in 
the  Reformed  Church,  (1674).  Practically  in  vain  did  the 
godly  J.  Van  Lodenstein,  (1620 — 1677),  and  J.  Koelman, 
(1632 — 1695),  and  others,  plead  with  the  nation  to  return 
to  God  and  godliness  of  life,  while  men  like  A.  Comrie, 
(1708 — 1774),  tried  to  revive  the  orthodoxy  of  the  days  of 
Dordt.  The  process  of  decay  could  not  be  arrested.  When 
the  French  Revolution  swept  over  Europe,  it  led  to  the  dis¬ 
establishment  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  i.e.,  it 
ceased  to  be  the  official  national  or  privileged  Church, 
such  as  it  had  been  from  1651.  King  William  I  of  the  new 
Kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  in  1816,  in  an  autocratic 
fashion,  forced  a  new  organization  upon  the  old  Church, 
placing  it  more  or  less  in  bondage  to  the  State,  and  to  that 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


19 


of  oligarchies  or  administrative  bodies  (Besturen),  con¬ 
trary  to  the  Presbyterian  order.  (Chapter  X.)  Doctrin-y 
ally  there  was  very  flagrant  departure  from  the  official 
standards  of  the  Church  of  the  Fathers,  and  the  ordination 
vows  were  changed  in  such  a  way  that  ministers  could 
preach  practically  what  they  liked  (Leervrijheid) .  Only 
here  and  there  were  men  who  still  proclaimed  the  old-time 
religion  of  free  grace.  Corruption  in  life  as  well  as  in  doc¬ 
trine  wrought  fearful  havoc  during  this  third  period  of  the 
cycle  of  Church  history,  particularly  during  the  first  dec¬ 
ades  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

§7.  THE  SECESSION,  ITS  GROUNDS  AND  ITS  ADHERENTS 

In  the  year  1834  the  period  of  restoration  opened.  In 
the  village  of  Ulrum,  in  the  province  of  Groningen,  the 
Rev.  Hendrik  De  Cock  was  graciously  led  to  see  the  unsat¬ 
isfactory  nature  of  the  popular  religious  views  of  his  days. 
In  the  theology  as  set  forth  by  the  Institutes  of  Calvin,  al¬ 
ready  named,  he  found  peace  of  mind  and  joy  of  heart. 
When  with  whole-hearted  devotion  he  began  to  proclaim 
the  truth  as  he  saw  and  felt  it,  hundreds  if  not  thousands 
from  near  and  far  flocked  to  hear  him.  Some  persisted  to 
have  him  baptize  their  children,  although  living  in  differ¬ 
ent  congregations.  De  Cock’s  activity,  in  defiance  of  exist¬ 
ing  regulations,  his  witnessing  against  “wolves”  in  the 
sheepfold,  and  his  seconding  of  a  very  severe  condemning 
of  the  hymns  of  his  Church,  led  to  his  suspension  and  fin¬ 
ally  to  what  has  been  called  the  Secession,  which  is 
usually  dated  from  1834,  when,  October  14th,  De  Cock  and 
his  followers  at  Ulrum  signed  an  Act  of  Separation.  In 
accordance  with  the  office  of  believers  (Article  28  of  the 
Confession),  they  announced  to  the  world  their  separation 
“from  those  who  were  not  of  the  Church”,  refusing  to  fel¬ 
lowship  any  longer  with  the  Established  Church  “until  it 
return  to  the  true  service  of  God”,  and  inviting  fellow- 


20 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


shipping  with  all  Reformed  church  members  and  assem¬ 
blies  united  on  the  basis  of  the  Word  of  God.  That  Word 
was  accepted  as  rule  of  faith  and  life,  and,  as  based  there¬ 
on,  the  old  Standards  of  the  Reformed  Church.  Its  an¬ 
cient  Liturgy  (Chapter  VIII),  was  adopted,  as  well  as  the 
Church  Order  of  Dordrecht  (see  Chapter  X). 

The  Revs.  H.  P.  Scholte,  S.  Van  Velzen,  A.  Brummel- 
kamp,  and  G.  F.  G.  Meerburg,  who  had  come  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  a  Revival  which  had  originated  in  Switzerland, 
with  their  congregations,  soon  after  followed  the  example 
of  Ulrum’s  pastor  and  people.  March  2  to  12,  1836,  the 
churches  of  the  Secession  held  their  first  Synod,  in  Am¬ 
sterdam,  at  which  meeting  the  Candidate  A.  C.  Van 
Raalte  was  examined  and  ordained.  The  meeting  called 
itself  the  “General  Synod  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  in  the  Netherlands”.  And  it  had  grounds  for 
styling  itself  General  Synod  because  when  it  met  there 
were  “provincial  assemblies”  already  in  nine  of  the  eleven 
Dutch  provinces.  Most  of  the  Seceders  lived  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  the  Netherlands:  Groningen,  Fries¬ 
land,  Drenthe,  and  Overijsel.  A  large  proportion  was 
found  in  South  Holland,  but  many  less  in  North  Holland, 
although  in  populous  Amsterdam  a  congregation  had 
been  organized  in  1835.  We  have  no  statistics  covering 
these  early  years,  but  by  1857  the  membership  of  the 
Christian  Seceder  Church  amounted  to  about  50,000 — the 
approximate  number  of  the  Jews  who  returned  from  the 
Babylonian  captivity. 

The  Secession  movement  spread  even  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  Netherlands  to  Eastfriesland,  under 
leadership  at  first  of  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Duin,  and  to  Bent- 
heim  (also  in  Germany),  where  the  “exhorters”  J.  B.  Sun- 
dag  and  H.  H.  Schoemaker  were  instrumental  in  arousing 
a  number  of  the  “Graafschappers”  (as  the  Bentheimers 
were  usually  called),  to  return  to  the  old-time  religion. 
Being  close  to  the  Dutch  boundaries,  and  still  using  the 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


21 


Holland  tongue,  the  people  of  the  two  districts  just  named 
were  soon  and  strongly  influenced  by  the  Secession  in  the 
Netherlands.  The  Old  Reformed  Church,  as  their  denom¬ 
ination  was  called,  kept  up  close  contact  with  the  Re¬ 
formed  Churches  of  the  Low  Countries,  and  in  1923  united 
formally  with  them  as  a  Particular  Synod,  at  least  for  the 
time  being. 

The  grounds  for  the  Secession  movement  as  given  by 
De  Cock  and  his  followers  are  chiefly  these  five: 

1)  A  falling  away  from  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Re¬ 
formed  Church,  as  expressed  in  its  standards. 

2)  A  hierarchial  form  of  church  government  and  arbi¬ 
trary  regulations. 

3)  The  introduction  of  unsound  hymns. 

4)  A  new  and  dubious-sounding  formula  of  subscrip¬ 
tion.  Reformed  doctrine  was  to  be  taught  not  be¬ 
cause  (quia)  but  in  so  far  (quatenus)  as  it  was  con¬ 
tained  in  the  Word  of  God. 

5)  Unfaithfulness  of  preachers  regarding  their  ordina¬ 
tion  vows. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  in  this  case,  as  in  that  of  the 
Reformation,  §4  above,  it  was  the  departure  of  the  domi¬ 
nant  church  from  what  were  considered  the  marks  of  the 
true  church,  that  furnished  the  reasons  for  separation. 
(Cf.  Chapter  II,  §8.) 

The  Adherents  of  the  Secession 

Who  were  the  men  and  women  who  separated  them¬ 
selves  from  what  they  considered  a  spurious  Reformed 
Church,  in  so  far  at  least  as  its  ruling  bodies  were  con¬ 
cerned?  The  reply  of  some  has  been  far  from  favorable. 
The  leader  of  the  Secession,  De  Cock,  has  been  called  a 
fanatic,  a  sectarian,  and  a  separatist.  An  American 


22 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


writer,  as  late  as  1922,  spoke  of  the  seceders  of  1834  as 
people  “who  vociferated  their  appeals  to  the  fathers  of 
Dordt,  but  in  their  ignorance  and  anger  tore  the  doctrines 
and  practices  of  these  fathers  to  shreds”.  (W.  0.  Van 
Eyck’s  Landmarks  of  the  Reformed  Fathers,  p.  86.)  No 
doubt  they  were  far  from  perfect.  Being  as  the  Christians 
of  Paul’s  days:  “Not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble”,  their  cultural  horizon  was 
very  limited.  Some  were  not  free  from  narrow-mindedness 
and  held  labadistic  views  as  to  Christian  experience. 
Others  laid  undue  emphasis  on  the  doctrine  of  predestina¬ 
tion  and  failed  to  appreciate  the  covenant  relationship  of 
the  seed  of  the  Church.  Uncharitable  condemnation  of 
those  who  lived  outside  of  their  circles  was  at  times  in  evi¬ 
dence.  There  were  some  who  stressed  justification  far 
more  than  sanctification,  no  doubt  brought  to  this  through 
reaction  from  the  prevailing  Christianity  of  that  day  which 
consisted  largely  of  attempts  at  self-improvement,  (werk- 
heiligheid).  There  were  testy  sermons-testers  among 
them,  soulless  weighers  of  souls,  merciless  critics,  people 
who  themselves  had  not  entered  the  Kingdom  and  were 
hindering  anxious  inquirers.  Antinomians  and  Phari¬ 
sees,  they  also  were  not  lacking  here  and  there,  and  now 
and  then. 

The  Seceders  bitterly  quarreled  among  themselves  as 
to  the  real  nature  of  the  Church,  and  the  privileges  of  its 
baptized  membership.  There  was  acrimonious  controversy 
about  the  garb  of  the  clergy  and  prohibiting  degrees  of 
blood-relationship  in  marriage.  Particularly  about  the 
binding  power  of  the  old  Church  Order  and  Scholte’s  peti¬ 
tion  for  liberty  of  worship,  from  the  side  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  involving  a  surrender  of  the  name  and  claim  of  be¬ 
ing  a  continuation  of  the  old  Reformed  Church,  great  in¬ 
ternal  dissension  arose.  The  discontented  churches  in 
1840  united  as  “the  Reformed  Congregations  under  the 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


23 


Cross” — and  continued  separate  existence  till  1869,  when 
reunion  took  place. 

But  we  should  not  wonder  unduly  at  these  imperfec¬ 
tions  and  controversies.  They  have  appeared  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Church  whenever  new  reforms  had  to  right 
ancient  wrongs.  Such  things  as  we  named  are  also  found 
in  the  history  of  the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans.  Indeed,  there 
is  much  similarity  between  both  the  rise  and  the  ideals  of 
the  founders  of  New  England  and  those  of  the  founders  of 
the  Secession  Church.  Both  were  essentially  reform  par¬ 
ties.  The  Puritan  movement  arose  as  protest  against  the 
formalism  of  the  Church  of  England  and  the  worldliness 
of  its  people.  The  roots  of  the  Dutch  Secession  lie  in  the 
movement  started  by  Voetius,  and  fostered  by  Lodenstein 
and  Brakel — that  of  the  Dutch  Pietists  or  perhaps  more 
correctly,  the  Dutch  Puritans,  a  people  protesting  against 
the  departures  of  the  Church  of  their  days  from  the  stand¬ 
ards  they  heartily  believed  in. 

The  Pilgrims  and  Puritan  pioneers  of  New  England, 
notwithstanding  all  their  faults,  tried  to  stand  bravely  for 
the  great  fundamentals  of  the  Calvinistic  view  of  God  and 
the  world.  And  so  did  those  Dutch  forebears  of  ours,  thank 
God!  Notwithstanding  their  faults  and  limitations — and 
exceptions, — the  rank  and  file  of  the  Dutch  Secession 
people  bowed  humbly  before  God  as  their  Sovereign,  and 
sought  Him  as  their  Father,  through  Christ.  They  unhesi¬ 
tatingly  accepted  the  Bible  as  the  inspired  Word.  They 
believed  in  salvation  by  free  grace,  beginning,  middle,  and 
end.  They  aimed  at  the  glorification  of  God,  at  the  morti¬ 
fication  of  the  old  man.  They  endeavored  to  do  justly,  to 
love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  their  God. 

The  history  of  the  Secession  Church  of  the  Netherlands 
has  shown  that  after  its  “crisis  of  youth”,  the  expulsive 
power  of  new  affections  and  convictions  threw  off  many 
of  the  dead  old  leaves,  while  faithful  preaching  and  disci- 


24 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


plining  removed  many  of  the  excrescences  of  the  early 
growth. 

No,  we  do  not  join  those  who  may  condemn  the  fathers 
of  1834,  as  those  “who  tore  to  shreds  the  doctrines  and 
practices  of  Dordt”.  While  not  blind  to  their  limitations 
and  faults,  we  honor  them  as  those  who  stood  for  the 
“faith  of  our  Fathers”,  the  doctrine  of  free  grace.  We 
also  praise  them  for  their  insistence  on  catechism  preach¬ 
ing  and  teaching,  their  maintaining  of  the  Psalter  as  the 
chief  manual  of  praise,  and  their  stress  on  the  necessity 
of  leading  the  separated  life,  be  it  that  dnabaptistic  ex¬ 
tremes  at  times  revealed  themselves  in  this  respect.  We 
also  revere  them  for  what  they  practised  about  the  Chris¬ 
tian  school,  and,  soon  after  their  early  years  of  internal 
struggle  were  over,  proclaimed  and  planned  about  throw¬ 
ing  out  the  life-line  in  missionary  endeavor. 

Finally  we  mention  to  their  honor  their  demonstration 
of  the  possibility  of  a  free  church,  maintained  by  the  offer¬ 
ings  of  a  willing  people,  entirely  without  state  support. 

§8.  EMIGRATION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES:  OBJECTIONS 
TO  IT;  SETTLEMENTS;  SPIRIT  AND  OBJECTIVES 

OF  OUR  PIONEERS 

It  was  largely  from  among  the  people  who  sided  with 
De  Cock  and  his  associates  that  the  great  movement  of 
migration  to  the  United  States  originated.  There  were 
two  great  causes  for  this.  The  first  in  historical  order  was 
the  bitter  persecution  which  some  of  the  followers  of  De 
Cock  and  his  fellow-reformers  endured.  Well  might  the 
seceders  speak  of  their  “Church  Under  the  Cross”.  The 
Government  at  times  cruelly  persecuted  God-fearing  men 
and  women  whose  chief  desire  was  to  worship  God  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience  and  according 
to  the  creed  which  had  made  old  Holland  great.  Cruel 
dragonading,  heavy  fining,  and  needless  imprisonment, 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


25 


ineffaceably  blotted  the  fair  pages  of  the  history  of  the 
Netherlands  as  a  country  of  religious  liberty.  Bitterly 
some  of  our  forebears  suffered  at  times.  They  were  ejected 
from  their  rented  farms,  boycotted  in  their  business  and 
ostracized  socially.  Even  their  little  children  were  pelted 
with  stones  going  to  and  from  church  or  school.  It  was 
this  persecution  which  led  some  of  them  to  look  for  a  land 
somewhere  in  which  religious  liberty  could  be  enjoyed. 

But  a  second  cause  leading  to  emigration  became  even 
more  prominent  and  dominant.  To  the  burden  of  the 
petty  but  painful  persecutions  which  we  enumerated,  were 
added  those  of  unusually  hard  times.  These  were  the  after- 
math  of  the  wars  of  Napoleon  and  others,  and  caused  par¬ 
ticularly  at  that  time  by  the  temporary  upsetting  of  the  la¬ 
bor  market,  owing  to  the  introduction  of  machinery.  Taxes 
were  tremendously  high,  while  wages  were  so  low  during 
the  closing  years  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
that  in  the  Betuwe,  one  of  the  best  parts  of  Gelderland,  the 
poor  had  to  content  themselves  with  eating  at  each  meal 
nothing  but  cabbage  and  turnips,  without  any  bread.  And 
no  wonder, since  some  heads  of  families  earned  only  16  cents 
(about  6c  American)  per  day.  And  they  were  glad  to  have 
work  at  all.  Those  out  of  work,  and  others  who  were  indi¬ 
gent,  were  helped  only  very  niggardly  by  the  authorities. 
In  Herwijnen,  e.g.,  the  poor  received  no  better  support 
than  a  quart  of  horse-beans  and  two  stivers  (4  cents  Amer¬ 
ican)  per  week,  per  person.  (De  Liefde-Lens,  Vader- 
landsche  Geschiedenis,  p.  652.) 

Russian  wheat  and  other  grains  also  began  to  flood  the 
Dutch  markets,  forcing  prices  down  and  throwing  farm¬ 
hands  out  of  employment. 

When,  owing  to  disease,  the  potato  crop,  the  poor 
man’s  staple  food,  failed  in  these  years,  and  the  winter  of 
1844_’45  was  unusually  severe,  philanthropists  like  Rev. 
0.  G.  Heldring  and  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Secession, 


26 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


thought  of  plans  of  migration  to  relieve  the  desperate  situ¬ 
ation.  But  as  soon  as  they  were  broached,  many  objec¬ 
tions  were  made  to  these  projects.  Especially  when  the 
name  “America”  was  mentioned,  many  of  the  people 
spoke  warningly  of  the  “Indian  raids”  which  rendered  life 
insecure  in  the  United  States.  Our  climate  was  said  to  be 
unbearable,  medical  help  was  lacking,  mail  connections 
with  the  Netherlands  were  impossible,  etc. 

But  besides  these  objections  of  a  material  sort,  which 
Scholte  was  fully  able  to  prove  unfounded  or  exaggerated, 
some  advanced  arguments  against  migration  which  were 
of  a  religious  character,  and  no  doubt  these  at  first 
weighed  heavily  on  the  minds  of  some  of  our  forebears. 
Many  quoted  the  case  of  Naomi  as  a  deterring  example  in 
leaving  the  native  land,  and  particularly  Romans  13:  1-7, 
about  subjection  to  the  higher  powers,  was  quoted,  as  if 
the  Dutch  themselves  in  the  long  ago  had  not  “migrated” 
to  the  Low  Lands  and  had  not  changed  masters  during  the 
Eighty  Years’  War!  And  as  to  “Amerika” — when  that  was 
mentioned  more  and  more  as  the  “land  of  hope” — many 
took  pains  to  picture  it  as  dominated  by  the  spirit  of  the 
French  Revolution — as  if  Holland  itself  had  escaped  that. 
Moreover,  some  pleaded  that,  if  the  old  home  land  were 
really  as  wicked  as  claimed,  the  pious  people  had  the  more 
reason  to  remain,  in  order  to  ward  off  or  mitigate  its 
merited  doom.  Particularly  the  motive  to  improve  eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  was  condemned,  though  without  good 
grounds,  as  we  shall  see  presently. 

But  while  numbers  were  no  doubt  deterred  by  these 
objections,  there  were  a  few  hundreds  of  people,  mainly 
followers  of  Brummelkamp,  Van  Raalte  and  Scholte,  who 
were  not  convinced.  They  quoted  the  Bible  command  to 
replenish  the  earth  (Genesis  9:  1),  as  sufficient  to  offset  all 
arguments  advanced. 

In  order  to  act  in  unison,  Emigration  Societies  were 
formed,  and  many  joined  them,  although,  in  true  Dutch 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


27 


fashion,  several  independent  parties  followed  their  own 
initiative,  leading  to  unprofitable  scattering  of  our  people. 

Settlements  in  America.  Spirit  of  the  Pioneers 

Favorable  reports  from  a  few  Dutch  people  already 
settled  in  the  United  States,  led  to  the  decision  to  go 
thither  instead  of  to  the  Dutch  East  Indies  or  South  Africa 
as  mentioned  at  times.  On  November  17, 1846,  in  the  bark 
Southerner ,  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Van  Raalte  and  his  family  ar¬ 
rived  in  New  York,  accompanied  by  some  fifty  Hollanders 
and  Rentheimers.  Soon  they  were  on  their  way  westward, 
wintering  in  and  near  Detroit,  Mich.  While  there  it  was 
decided  to  settle  in  the  Black  River  district  in  western 
Michigan. 

Two  days  after  Van  Raalte  had  arrived  at  New  York, 
the  “voortrekkers”  of  Scholte’s  party  of  immigrants,  led 
by  Hendrik  Barendregt,  landed  at  New  Orleans,  Nov.  19, 
1846.  The  next  spring  Scholte  himself,  in  the  Sarah  Sand, 
came  to  America  by  way  of  Boston. 

In  a  letter  dated  January  30,  1847,  written  in  Detroit, 
Van  Raalte  expressed  the  hope  that  Scholte  also  would 
settle  in  Michigan,  if  not  in  the  Black  River  district,  then  at 
least  in  the  Grand  River  or  Kalamazoo  River  valley,  or  in 
a  more  northerly  part  of  Michigan.  But,  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  the  Dutch  motto:  “Eendracht  maakt  macht”, 
which  Van  Raalte  quoted,  Scholte,  who  was  strongly  indi¬ 
vidualistic,  chose  and  followed  his  own  way,  thus  leading 
to  a  division  of  forces,  which,  at  first  at  least,  sadly 
crippled  the  strength  of  the  migration  movement.  He 
settled  with  some  800  followers  in  the  heart  of  Iowa, 
founding  the  Pella  Colony,  later  the  mother  of  the  Sioux 
County,  Iowa,  settlements  of  our  people. 

But  these  well  known  pioneer  parties  were  not  the  only 
ones  to  arrive  on  our  shores  during  the  days  of  the  “Great 
Trek”,  as  we  may  call  the  period  from  1845  to  1850,  when 


28 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


our  people  founded  colonies  in  Michigan  and  Iowa  under 
the  leadership  of  Van  Raalte  and  Scholte.  Various  bands 
of  Dutch  people  came  hither  and  many  displayed  the 
same  spirit. 

If  the  hand  of  God  is  seen  in  American  history  at  the 
time  of  bringing  hither  the  best  blood  of  the  nations  of 
western  Europe,  in  the  period  of  the  colonizing  of  the  At¬ 
lantic  colonies,  this  same  hand  can  be  observed  directing 
the  footsteps  of  some  of  the  most  God-fearing  men  and 
women  of  Holland  and  adjoining  regions  to  the  United 
States  during  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Wisconsin  settlements,  founded  by  the  Revs.  P. 
Zonne  and  G.  Raay  in  1847  and  1848,  consisted  of  people 
who  reckoned  with  God  and  His  Word  as  much  as  their 
kinsmen  across  Lake  Michigan,  even  though  they  did  not 
influence  the  life  of  the  Holland-Americans  as  much  as 
those  who  lived  in  larger  colonies. 

Take  also  the  Dutch  settlements  in  what  was  formerly 
called  Low  and  High  Prairies,  south  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 
Low  Prairie,  since  1869,  called  South  Holland,  was 
founded  by  deeply  religious  people,  such  as  the  Killewin- 
ger,  the  De  Jong,  the  Gouwens,  the  Van  Vuuren,  and  the 
Renschop  families.  John  Killewinger  and  Hendrik  De 
Jong  came  there  as  the  pioneers,  in  1847,  arriving  direct 
from  the  province  of  South  Holland,  hence  the  name  of 
their  settlements. 

From  the  province  of  North  Holland  came  their  neigh¬ 
bors  to  the  north,  living  at  what  formerly  was  called  High 
Prairie,  now  Roseland,  a  part  of  Chicago,  Ill.  The  leader 
of  the  Roseland  pioneers,  who  arrived  in  the  spring  of 
1849,  was  Peter  De  Jong,  a  godly  man,  one  of  the  small  but 
faithful  band  of  Seceders  then  living  some  miles  north  of 
Alkmaar.  While  he  was  a  teacher  at  Kerkebuurt,  cele¬ 
brating  a  feast  or  “gastdag”,  so  popular  in  that  part  of 
the  Netherlands,  some  of  De  Jong’s  relatives  mentioned 
their  plan  of  going  to  America.  He  made  it  a  subject  of 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


29 


earnest  prayer.  When  he  had  reached  the  conclusion  that 
his  Lord  and  Master  wanted  him  to  go,  and  he  discovered 
that  his  relatives  had  changed  their  mind,  De  Jong  insisted 
on  going,  and  persuaded  the  others  to  follow.  (Gf.  Chap¬ 
ter  VI,  §6.) 

Men  of  such  positive  convictions,  men  who  reckoned 
with  God  in  their  planning,  have  started  practically  every 
Dutch  settlement  in  the  United  States.  Such  was  the  case 
also  with  the  colony  at  Fulton,  Ill.,  whose  founders,  led  by 
Vander  Meulen,  all  came  from  Warffum,  Groningen, 
members  of  the  little  Seceder  church  there  which  dates 
from  1835.  At  Fowler  and  Lafayette,  Ind.,  and  elsewhere, 
there  were  men  of  such  type  from  the  beginning,  people 
of  positive  religious  convictions. 

That  also  applies  to  later  settlements  such  as  Holland, 
Neb.,  where  in  1874,  three  “Seceder”  families  from  the 
heart  of  “modern”  North  Holland  settled,  those  of  Klerk, 
Slot,  and  Smit. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Hollanders  also,  who  founded  the 
colonies  of  their  people  at  Green  Bay  and  near  the  Fox 
River,  in  Wisconsin,  were  led  thither  by  a  man  whose 
name  deserves  to  be  remembered — the  Rev.  T.  J.  Vanden 
Broek,  who  spent  many  years  of  service  in  that  region 
among  the  Indians. 

Indeed,  we  know  of  no  Holland  settlement  of  any  sig¬ 
nificance  which  did  not  have  a  strong  religious  element 
among  it  at  the  start.  Surely,  the  hand  of  God  was  in  this. 

What  the  spirit  of  these  pioneers  was,  has  not  been 
shown,  however,  by  their  later  history  alone,  but  was  pro¬ 
claimed  from  the  very  genesis  of  the  movement,  during 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  statutes  of  the 
Emigration  Societies,  above  alluded  to,  breathe  a  posi¬ 
tively  Christian  spirit.  The  Utrecht  organization,  of  which 
Scholte  was  the  soul,  had  embodied  in  its  articles  of  in¬ 
corporation  that  only  men  of  Christian  principles  could 
join  it,  men  who  without  subterfuge  or  evasion  accepted 


30 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


the  Word  of  God  as  authoritative.  The  Society  formed 
under  the  auspices  of  Brummelkamp  and  Van  Raalte  ex¬ 
pressed  in  Article  7  of  its  Rules:  “The  first  duty  is  to 
make  the  colony  Christian,  therefore  it  is  recommended 
to  the  care  of  the  committees  which  are  to  be  concerned 
with  accepting,  aiding,  and  sending  emigrants,  to  seek 
such  a  salting  element  for  the  colony  as  shall  be  necessary 
to  give  it  a  Christian  majority.  For  that  reason  they  shall 
not  accept  any  other  persons  for  colonization  than  those 
from  whom  it  may  be  expected  that  they  will  subject 
themselves  to  the  Word  of  God,  so  that  in  that  way  there 
may  be  established  not  only  a  Christian  church  govern¬ 
ment,  but  also  a  Christian  civil  government  for  the  main¬ 
taining  of  God’s  command  which  is  the  strength  (“vastig- 
heid”)  of  every  state.”  ( Leven  van  Prof.  A.  Brummel¬ 
kamp,  p.  206.  Cf.  H.  S.  Lucas,  Michigan  History  Magazine , 
Vol.  VI,  p.  670.) 

The  same  spirit  of  the  famous  Mayflower  compact 
breathing  in  these  articles  is  also  evident  in  a  LETTER 
written  by  Brummelkamp  and  Van  Raalte,  dated  May  25, 
1846,  addressed  “to  the  Believers  in  North  America”,  and 
given  along  with  some  parties  who  constituted  the  van¬ 
guard  of  the  movement  furthered  by  the  men  just  named. 
It  stated  that  the  Dutch  immigrants,  soon  due  on  our 
shores,  maligned  as  they  were  in  their  old  home,  and  con¬ 
sidered  the  offscouring  of  the  nation,  came  here  with  ob¬ 
jectives  that  could  bear  investigation. 

Objectives 

Three  purposes  were  announced.  The  first  was  to  im¬ 
prove  the  social  condition  of  the  immigrants.  Many  of 
them,  it  was  stated,  were  bowed  down  under  the  heavy 
burdens  of  the  times  in  the  Old  World. 

The  second  aim  was:  the  desire  to  enjoy  the  great 
privilege  of  having  their  children  taught  in  Christian 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


31 


schools,  “a  privilege  that  we  lack  here,  since  in  the  public 
schools  a  general  moral  instruction  is  given  which  may 
offend  neither  Jew  nor  Romanist,  while  free  schools  are 
barred”. 

The  third  reason  for  coming  to  the  United  States  was, 
they  stated,  “the  sincere  desire  to  have  an  active  part  in 
the  propagation  of  God’s  truth  among  the  heathen,  some¬ 
thing  for  which  many  of  us  have  a  desire,  but  power  to 
do  it  begins  to  fail”.  To  do  this,  they  aimed  at  a  fourth 
objective,  viz.,  to  live  in  groups,  “dorpsgewijze”,  as  they 
called  it,  to  prevent  scattering  and  all  its  dangers,  and  to 
insure  the  interests  or  worship  and  education.  “Een- 
dracht  maakt  macht”  was  quoted  here  also. 

Would  these  pioneers  and  their  posterity  reach  these 
objectives?  And  would  they  remain  loyal  to  the  principles 
of  the  Secession  people  to  which  we  alluded  in  the  preced¬ 
ing  paragraph?  The  prosperity  of  the  Holland- American 
people  almost  everywhere  evident  in  their  many  settle¬ 
ments  from  coast  to  coast,  shows  that  the  first  objective 
has  been  reached.  Incidentally  this  is  manifest  in  the 
many  activities  carried  on  and  institutions  maintained  by 
our  churches.  In  how  far  the  other  matters  we  named 
were  kept  in  mind,  this  volume  aims  to  show. 

TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  should  we  make  a  study  of  denominational  history? 

2.  What  were  the  social  and  religious  conditions  of  our 
ancestors? 

3.  When  did  the  first  missionaries  reach  them?  Who  were 
they? 

4.  Mention  some  of  the  unscriptural  doctrines  and  practices  of 
the  Roman  Church. 

5.  Name  some  of  the  forerunners  of  the  Reformation;  its 
leaders  and  grounds. 

6.  What  can  you  relate  about  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland, 
its  Synod  of  Dordt,  and  its  theologians  during  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century? 


32 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


7.  Name  the  cause  of  the  Secession,  its  leaders  and  grounds, 
and  characterize  its  people,  and  the  things  they  stood  for. 

8.  Which  two  great  causes  led  to  Emigration  to  the  United 
States? 

9.  Name  the  chief  settlements  of  our  people,  and  describe  the 
spirit  of  our  pioneers. 

10.  What  can  you  say  about  the  objectives  of  the  immigrants? 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

“The  Reformed  Reformation”,  J.  I.  Good. 

“The  Reformed  Church  in  the  Netherlands,  1340 — 1840”,  M.  G. 
Hansen. 

“The  Dutch  Reformation  in  the  16th  Century”,  W.  C.  Martyn. 

“A  Church  and  Her  Martyrs”,  D.  Van  Pelt. 

“A.  C.  Van  Raalte”  (Dutch),  H.  E.  Dosker. 

Same,  by  J.  A.  Wormser. 

“Hendrik  Peter  Scholte”,  J.  A.  Wormser. 

“The  Hollanders  in  Iowa”,  J.  Vander  Zee. 

“A  Dutch  Settlement  in  Michigan”,  A.  J.  Pieters. 

“Religious  Thought  in  Holland  During  the  19th  Century”,  J.  H. 
Mackay. 

“De  Chr.  Geref.  Kerk,  Zestig  Jaren  van  Strijd  en  Zegen”,  Henry 
Beets,  Chapters  I  and  II. 

Cf.  works  on  the  Dutch  Secession  by  J.  C.  Rullmann,  J.  A.  Worm¬ 
ser,  H.  Bouwman,  J.  H.  Landwehr,  and  others. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS,  ORGANIZED,  UNITED 

AND  DISUNITED 

§1.  The  Struggles  of  our  Pioneers.  §2.  The  Reformed  Church  in 
America  in  Its  History.  §3.  First  Contact  with  the  R.  C.  A. 
§4.  Dr.  WyckofFs  Visit  and  Report.  §5.  The  Union  with  its 
Ommitted  Reservation.  §6.  Dissatisfaction  in  Michigan  and  the 
Grounds  for  it.  §7.  The  Parting  of  the  Ways,  April  8,  1857. 
§8.  The  Right  to  a  Place  in  the  Sun.  §9.  The  Pluriformity  of 
the  Church.  Our  Mission. 

§1.  THE  STRUGGLES  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 

THE  FOUNDATIONS  of  the  early  settlements  of  our 
people  in  America  have  been  laid  not  alone  at  the 
expense  of  brain,  brawn,  and  sweat,  like  all  such  new  be¬ 
ginnings  in  the  untrodden  wildernesses  of  our  land,  but 
of  many  tears  and  prayers  as  well.  Yea,  at  the  expense 
of  many  lives.  “Settlements  are  built  on  the  bones  of  the 
settlers” — something  like  that  has  become  a  proverb, 
based  on  reality. 

The  colonies  of  our  people  in  Wisconsin,  in  Illinois, 
and  in  Indiana  all  went  through  trying  privations,  untold 
hardships,  and  various  afflictions.  In  1848  the  Mayflower, 
with  several  Dutch  immigrants  aboard,  caught  fire  when 
near  Sheboygan,  Wis.,  on  Lake  Michigan — a  panic  ensued 
and  several  Hollanders  perished  miserably.  Even  the 
Iowa  settlement  has  known  years  of  stress  and  struggle, 
although  Scliolte  is  said  to  have  led  “the  flower  of  the 
Dutch  emigration  of  that  day” — many  men  with  means 
being  among  them.  In  the  central  portion  of  Iowa,  in 
Marion  County,  title  had  been  secured  to  18,000  acres  of 
excellent  land.  The  eight  hundred  people  who  belonged 
to  Scholte’s  first  party  immediately  provided  shelter  in 
the  shape  of  sheds  made  of  lumber  they  had  found  on 


34 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


hand.  Soon  after  they  built  dug-outs,  sod-houses,  partly 
above  and  partly  below  the  ground.  Pella,  laid  out  in  the 
fall  of  1847,  became  known  as  the  “Straw  Town”  (Strooien 
,Stad),  from  the  appearance  of  the  straw  roofs  of  these 
huts.  But  the  spring  of  1848  brought  a  terrible  windstorm 
which  razed  many  buildings  under  construction  and 
wrecked  some  already  occupied.  The  winter  of  1848-’49 
was  unusually  severe.  Snow  covered  the  ground  from  No¬ 
vember,  1848,  to  May,  1849,  at  an  average  depth  of  three 
feet,  and  for  weeks  the  temperature  was  twenty  degrees 
below  zero.  Much  live  stock  perished  and  many  people 
suffered  severely  from  lack  of  fuel.  In  the  spring  of  1849 
came  disastrous  floods  which  killed  still  more  cattle,  un¬ 
able  to  extricate  themselves  from  the  miry  bottom  lands 
in  which  they  grazed.  During  1849  many  of  the  Iowa  col¬ 
onists  had  exhausted  their  supply  of  money.  Truly,  it 
was  a  testing- time  they  passed  through  in  Pella. 

But  God  provided  relief  in  the  way  of  His  Providence. 
Gold  had  been  discovered  in  California.  One  of  the  main 
trails  thither  led  through  Pella,  and  the  colonists  were 
able  to  dispose  of  their  produce  for  ready  money.  During 

1849,  two  hundred  and  fifty  more  Hollanders  came  to  the 
Pella  colony.  When  the  government  census  was  taken  in 

1850,  there  lived  in  Iowa  1,108  Hollanders  of  foreign  birth, 
by  1856  increased  to  2,077. 

Many  more  of  our  people,  however,  had  during  that 
period  gone  to  Van  Raalte’s  colony  in  western  Michigan. 
Most  of  them  were  of  the  poorer  class,  compared  to 
Scholte’s  followers.  They  had  but  little  money,  not  enough 
to  buy  prairie  land,  like  Scholte’s  followers  were  able  to 
purchase.  That  fact  evidently  was  the  chief  reason  for 
Van  Raalte  selecting  Michigan.  It  was  not  alone  closer  to 
Detroit,  where  his  party  had  wintered  from  1846-’47,  as 
we  already  recorded,  thus  saving  traveling  expense,  but 
also  cheaper.  We  find  him  writing  to  Brummelkamp  that 
he  would  not  dare  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  prairies,  since 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


35 


it  demanded  too  much  money.  A  well-wooded  section 
would  also  mean  the  building  of  houses  at  small  cost.  But, 
oh  what  a  price,  in  other  respects  than  money,  our  pio¬ 
neers  paid  at  first  to  carve  their  homes  and  fortunes  out  of 
the  forest  primeval  of  Michigan! 

Van  Raalte’s  vanguard  arrived  on  the  evening  of  Feb¬ 
ruary  9,  1847,  at  what  now  is  the  site  of  Holland,  Mich. 
Soon  others  came  to  join  the  little  band.  The  Rev.  M.  A. 
Ypma  reached  Holland  during  June,  1847,  with  49  Frie- 
sians,  to  found  the  Vriesland  colony  nearby.  Closely  in 
their  wake  came  a  company  of  people  from  Bentheim,  to 
found  Graafschap.  The  Rev.  H.  G.  Klyn  became  their  pas¬ 
tor  the  next  year.  Next  came  a  strong  party  of  immi¬ 
grants  hailing  from  the  province  of  Zeeland,  led  by  such 
strong  men  as  the  Rev.  C.  Vander  Meulen,  and  J.  Vande 
Luyster  and  J.  Steketee.  They  settled  between  Holland 
and  Vriesland.  “Brothertown”,  thus  Vander  Meulen  had  in¬ 
tended  to  call  the  centre  of  the  settlement,  but  “Zeeland” 
was  chosen.  Near  Zeeland  was  Groningen,  whose  founder 
was  the  enterprising  John  Rabbers.  Drenthe,  settled  in 
1847,  shows  the  provincial  origin  of  its  pioneers  suffi¬ 
ciently,  and  so  does  Overisel,  whose  first  settlers  came 
there  in  1848.  Noordeloos  was  started  during  the  year  last 
named  by  a  few  people  from  the  province  of  Groningen. 
North  Holland,  settled  in  1849,  was  doubtless  named  thus 
after  its  location,  five  or  six  miles  northeast  of  the  chief 
place  of  the  Dutch  colony,  usually  called  “de  Stad”,  Hol¬ 
land.  By  October,  1847,  there  were  already  some  two 
thousand  in  the  various  places  we  enumerated. 

But,  as  in  Iowa,  the  colony  was  soon  to  be  tried,  and 
even  a  great  deal  worse.  The  work  of  clearing  the  ground 
was  very  arduous.  Food  was  in  many  cases  insufficient. 
The  homes  of  our  Michigan  pioneers  were  of  a  very 
primitive  kind:  huts  covered  with  bark,  or  cloth,  and  but 
poor  shelter  for  men  and  women  accustomed  to  good 
houses.  The  furniture  was  a  kind  of  makeshift.  Clothes 


36 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


were  not  what  our  people  were  used  to  wearing.  The  little 
money  they  had  was  soon  spent  or  tied  up  in  land  and 
tools.  The  exposure  and  poverty  involved  in  the  above, 
as  well  as  the  dampness  of  swamp  lands  and  clearings, 
brought  all  kinds  of  sickness,  such  as  malarial  fever,  dis- 
sentery,  bilious  fever,  scarlet  fever,  and  smallpox.  Before 
long  the  Colony  looked  like  a  large  hospital.  Many  fam¬ 
ilies  died  out  completely,  and  practically  all  suffered 
grievous  bereavements.  Of  a  company  of  Friesians, 
twenty-two  in  number,  which  had  arrived  in  1847,  only 
eleven  survived  by  April,  1848.  The  population  of  Gro¬ 
ningen  was  diminished  by  one-half.  In  Graafschap  the  liv¬ 
ing  scarcely  had  strength  enough  to  dig  a  grave  for  their 
dead.  During  the  late  summer  of  1847,  when  Van  Raalte 
preached  to  a  small  band  of  colonists,  he  broke  out  in  a 
weeping  ejaculation  while  at  prayer:  “0  Lord,  must  we 
all  die?”  Quite  a  number  left  the  Colony  in  disgust,  to 
settle  elsewhere.  A  few,  we  are  told,  had  lost  their  faith 
as  well  as  their  possessions. 

Bui  not  so,  thank  God,  the  great  mass  of  our  people. 
Those  driven  through  force  of  economic  circumstances  to 
neighboring  towns  like  Grand  Haven,  Kalamazoo,  and 
particularly  Grand  Rapids,  started  religious  services  from 
the  very  beginning.  In  the  Colony  itself,  notwithstanding 
all  trials  and  tribulations,  regular  Sunday  services  were 
held  in  all  the  congregations,  catechetical  classes  were 
taught,  the  sick  visited,  discipline  exercised,  in  short,  all 
the  religious  interests  were  attended  to,  although  services 
were  held  at  first  amidst  primitive  conditions.  In  the  be¬ 
ginning  open-air  services  were  held,  the  preacher  standing 
on  a  rude  platform,  his  audience  seated  around  him  on 
logs,  and  stumps,  and  other  things  which  could  serve  the 
purpose.  But  before  long  log  churches  were  built  and  the 
Colonial  Church  at  Holland,  erected  in  1856,  shows  laud¬ 
able  sacrifice  of  labor  and  money,  as  well  as  an  eye  for 
architectural  design.  Schools  were  opened  in  various 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


37 


places,  as  related  in  Chapter  VI,  §6.  During  the  summer 
of  1849  the  church  at  Holland  was  reported  to  number 
225  families;  Zeeland,  175;  Vriesland,  69;  and  Overisel 
135,  while  Graafschap’s  congregation  numbered  50  fami¬ 
lies,  Drenthe  45,  and  Groningen  30.  Altogether  there  were 
in  1849 — 928  communicant  members,  and  a  total  of  some 
3,000  souls. 

Some  of  these  immigrant  congregations  were  not  or¬ 
ganized  in  a  formal  way,  notably  thet  First  Church  of  Hol¬ 
land,  Mich.,  shepherded  by  Rev.  Van  Raalte,  the  acknowl¬ 
edged  leader  of  the  Colony,  and  its  pastor  till  1867.  Con¬ 
sistory-members  who  had  served  in  the  churches  of  our 
Fathers  across  the  sea  re-assumed  their  functions  here  with¬ 
out  a  formal  vote.  So  it  came  to  pass  that,  for  instance,  in 
the  Zeeland  church  at  first  16  elders  were  functioning,  and 
14  deacons.  The  Secession  of  1834  for  that  matter,  while 
strong  as  to  dogmatic  principles,  did  not  excel  in  clear  in¬ 
sight  into  Reformed  Church  polity.  That  was  to  be  a  root 
of  trouble  later  on.  Rut  our  pioneers  felt  enough  for  Pres¬ 
byterian  principles  of  church  government  to  realize  the 
need  of  some  judicatory  of  broader  scope  and  jurisdiction 
than  a  local  consistory,  and  so  as  early  as  April  23,  1848, 
consistory-members  and  their  pastors  organized  what  they 
called  a  classical  meeting,  later  known  as  the  Classis  of 
Holland.  At  first,  however,  they  did  not  strictly  follow 
historical  precedent.  All  consistory-members  were  seated 
as  members  of  Classis,  and  not  alone  ecclesiastical  sub¬ 
jects  were  discussed  in  those  early  days,  but  also  matters 
pertaining  to  education  and  such  common  interests  as  the 
making  of  roads,  the  building  of  bridges,  etc. 

As  things  were  brightening  up  by  the  spring  of  1849, 
economically  speaking,  and  under  the  shepherding  care 
of  faithful  pastors  and  capable  elders,  it  seemed  that  the 
future  held  the  promise  of  a  vigorous  church  life,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  principles  of  the  Church  of  the  fathers  across  the 
sea  and  in  close  connection  with  that  body.  Rut,  strange 


38 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


to  say,  no  arrangements  had  been  made  with  the  denom¬ 
ination  in  the  Netherlands  as  to  ecclesiastical  relationship. 
And  instead  of  developing  a  church  life  of  their  own,  as 
the  Pilgrims  of  New  England  had  done,  our  Michigan 
pioneers  were  led  to  connect  themselves  with  another  de¬ 
nomination  whose  history  we  must  trace  first  to  fully  un¬ 
derstand  the  situation. 

§2.  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA— ITS  HISTORY 

When  the  “Pilgrims  of  the  West”  arrived  in  the  United 
States  they  were  welcomed  by  a  few  leaders  of  a  denom¬ 
ination  which,  within  a  decade  of  the  meeting  of  the  great 
Synod  of  Dordrecht,  had  been  planted  in  the  New  World 
as  an  offshoot  of  the  old  Church  of  the  fathers.  It  was  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  at  the  time  officially  known 
as  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church.  During  Hol¬ 
land’s  Golden  Age,  while  the  Eighty  Years’  War  was  still 
raging,  the  enterprising  Netherlanders  had  wrested  much 
territory  from  the  hands  of  their  foes.  Not  alone  the  East 
Indian  Islands,  already  named  in  Chapter  I,  became  Dutch 
possessions,  but,  after  Henry  Hudson,  in  1609,  had  sailed 
up  the  river  to  be  named  after  him,  the  country  along  the 
Atlantic  sea  coast,  between  Virginia  and  what  was  then 
known  as  New  France,  between  the  fortieth  and  forty- 
ninth  degree  of  latitude,  was  also  claimed  by  the  Hol¬ 
landers  as  theirs,  by  right  of  discovery,  and  in  1614  named 
New  Netherland.  On  Manhattan  Island,  bought  from  the 
Indians  for  “the  value  of  sixty  guilders”,  or  about  $24, 
divine  services  were  begun  at  least  as  early  as  the  spring 
of  1624.  In  the  course  of  time,  as  other  Dutch  settlers 
came  to  the  New  Netherlands,  joined  by  religious  refugees 
from  Belgium,  France,  and  the  Palatinate,  congregations 
of  the  Reformed  faith  and  order  were  established  in  dif¬ 
ferent  places  along  the  Hudson,  Mohawk,  and  Raritan 
rivers,  and  in  adjacent  territory.  In  1846,  when  our  pio- 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


39 


neers  arrived  in  the  United  States,  there  were  271  Re¬ 
formed  Churches,  served  by  280  ministers.  The  denom¬ 
ination  numbered  23,301  families,  embracing  32,209  com¬ 
municant  members  and  totaling  104,098  souls.  While  the 
name  “Dutch”  was  still  a  part  of  the  official  denomina¬ 
tional  title,  the  language  of  Holland  had  ceased  to  be  that 
of  public  worship,  although  quite  a  number  of  the  older 
people  were  able  to  converse  in  what  was  called  “Jersey 
Dutch”,  and  among  prominent  families  in  New  York  and 
New  Jersey,  some  were  considerably  interested  in  Old 
Holland. 

§3.  FIRST  CONTACT  WITH  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH 

When  tidings  of  the  persecution  entailed  by  the  Seces¬ 
sion  reached  America,  they  provoked  sympathy,  already 
as  early  as  1838,  when  the  Classis  of  Poughkeepsie  called 
the  attention  of  General  Synod  to  it,  but  found  this  body 
unable  to  express  its  judgment  because  of  lack  of  infor¬ 
mation.  In  1846  the  Rev.  Th.  De  Witt  signified  to  the 
General  Synod  that  he-intended  to  visit  Holland  that  sum¬ 
mer.  Synod  resolved  to  recommend  him  “to  the  entire 
confidence  and  affection  of  the  brethren  and  judicatories 
of  the  General  Synod  [of  the  Netherland  Reformed 
Church]  from  which  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  the 
United  States  had  sprung  and  toward  which  it  continues 
to  cherish  the  most  affectionate  regards”.  Evidently,  it 
was  not  realized  at  the  time  how  some  of  these  very 
“brethren”  had  considerable  to  do  with  the  persecutions  of 
the  Seceders.  But  the  Lord  overruled  it  for  good,  for  Dr. 
De  Witt  reported  to  the  General  Synod  of  1847  that: 
“When  in  Holland  I  received  information  of  a  rising  spirit 
of  emigration  to  America  and  especially  among  the  (afge- 
scheiden)  seceders  from  the  Established  Church,  and  had 
a  short  interview  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Scholte  of  Utrecht,  re- 


40 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


cently  arrived  in  this  country”.  (Minutes  General  Synod , 
p.  135.) 

The  “Letter”  of  the  Revs.  Bruinmelkamp  and  Van 
Raalte  to  the  American  believers,  (Chapter  I,  §7),  was 
handed  to  the  Rev.  I.  N.  Wyckoff,  who  translated  it  and 
had  it  published,  October  15,  1846,  in  the  columns  of  The 
Christian  Intelligencer ,  the  organ  of  the  Reformed  Church. 
In  Albany,  where  he  was  pastor  at  the  time,  (from  1836 — 
1866),  Dr.  Wyckoff  organized  a  “Holland  Emigration  So¬ 
ciety”  to  aid  “the  new  body  of  Pilgrims  who  reached  our 
shores  from  Holland,  the  land  of  our  fathers  and  the  shel¬ 
ter,  in  ages  gone  by,  to  outcasts  by  persecution”.  The  Gen¬ 
eral  Synod  of  1848  resolved ,  in  view  of  the  great  number 
of  Hollanders  coming  to  this  country,  that  the  students  at 
New  Brunswick  Seminary  should  learn  Dutch,  to  be  able  to 
preach  to  the  newcomers  in  their  own  language.  The 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions  was  charged  “to  give  special 
attention  to  the  wants  of  the  Protestant  Hollanders,  with  a 
view  to  bring  them  into  connection  with  our  Church”.  The 
Reformed  congregation  at  Grand  Rapids,  dating  from 
1840,  frequently  opened  its  pulpit  to  “the  Holland  minis¬ 
ters  in  that  vicinity  who  dispensed  the  Word  and  ordi¬ 
nances  to  the  people  who  recently  settled  there  from  the 
land  of  our  forefathers”.  ( Minutes  1849,  p.  503.) 

§4.  DR.  WYCKOFF’S  VISIT  AND  REPORT 

Finally,  on  the  last  day  of  May,  1849,  Dr.  Wyckoff  him¬ 
self  appeared  upon  the  scene  at  Holland,  Mich.,  as  “spe¬ 
cial  agent”  sent  by  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  of  the 
Reformed  Church  to  inquire  “into  the  religious  and  eccle¬ 
siastical  relations  of  this  people,  to  express  to  them  the 
sympathy  of  our  Church,  to  make  overtures  for  church 
relation,  and  to  offer  such  aid  in  their  straitness  as  might 
be  necessary  and  desirable”. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


*1 


Dr.  Wyekoff  found  our  pioneers  indeed  in  “straitness", 
outwardly.  Their  funds  were  exhausted  in  the  purchase 
of  land  and  in  making  improvements.  “The  pastors  have 
but  little  support,  some  of  them  literally  none,  from  their 
churches”.  But  they  were  reported  to  live  in  faith  and 
hope  of  better  times,  rejoicing  that  the  Lord  had  kept 
them  alive  during  their  first  and  bitter  struggle  with  the 
forest,  with  disease  and  disappointment  in  "the  dark  and 
untrodden  wilderness’*.  There  was  much  joy  in  the  Col- 
onv  when  Dr.  Wyckofif  showed  the  interest  of  the  Church 
of  the  East  in  the  Hollanders  of  the  West,  "who  had 
mourned  that  the  Dutch  Church  (had)  counted  them 
strangers,  and  had  no  word  of  encouragement,  no  hand 
of  help  for  them",  as  he  expressed  it  later  in  his  report  to 
his  Board.  Rev.  Van  Raalte  "dispatched  letters  and  mes¬ 
sengers  to  the  several  ministers  and  consistories,  inviting 
them  to  a  conference  with  me  on  Monday.  June  4th.  Quite 

a  large  company  attended . At  the  Classical  meeting  it 

was  soon  made  known  that  the  brethren  were  a  little 
afraid  of  entering  into  ecclesiastical  connection  with  us. 
although  they  believe  in  the  union  of  brethren  and  sigh  for 
Christian  sympathy  and  association.  They  have  so  felt  to 
the  quick  the  galling  chain  of  ecclesiastical  domination, 
and  have  seen  with  sorrow  how  exact  organization,  accord¬ 
ing  to  human  rules,  leads  to  formality  on  the  one  hand,  and 
to  oppression  of  tender  consciences  on  the  other,  that  they 
hardly  knew  what  to  say.  I  protested,  of  course,  that  it 
was  the  farthest  from  our  thoughts  to  bring  them  in  bond¬ 
age  to  men,  or  to  exercise  ecclesiastical  tyranny  over  them. 
And  I  stated  that  they  would  be  most  perfectly  free,  at  any 
time  they  found  an  ecclesiastical  connection  opposed  to 
their  religious  prosperity  or  enjoyment,  to  bid  us  a  fra¬ 
ternal  adieu,  and  be  by  themselves  again”.  "On  compari¬ 
son  of  doctrine,  a  perfect  agreement  with  our  standards 
was  found.  In  the  Order  of  their  churches,  they  believe 
each  church  and  consistory  should  direct  and  manage  its 


42 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


own  concerns,  and  incline  to  the  idea  that  an  appellate 
jurisdiction  of  superior  judicatories  is  not  so  scriptural  as 
a  kind  and  fraternal  conference  and  advice.  Each  of  their 
churches  appoints  as  many  elders  as  seems  desirable,  and 
they  are  always  in  office  until  they  are  dismissed  as  guilty 
and  unworthy,  or  removed  by  death.  As  the  result,  they 
agreed,  with  those  explanations,  to  join  our  Synod”. 

§5.  THE  UNION  AND  ITS  OMMITTED  RESERVATION 

“They  agreed  to  join  our  Synod”.  So  Dr.  Wyckoff 
stated  in  the  Report  of  the  June,  1849,  meeting  from  which 
we  quoted.  Evidently  on  the  basis  of  this  agreement  the 
Rev.  A.  C.  Van  Raalte  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Par¬ 
ticular  Synod  of  Albany.  “We  authorize  him  in  our  name  to 
give  and  ask  all  necessary  information  which  can  facili¬ 
tate  the  desired  union”,  so  it  was  stated  in  his  credentials, 
signed  by  the  president  of  Classis,  the  Rev.  S.  Rolks.  The 
Albany  Synod  agreed  to  this  union,  and  at  the  General 
Synod,  held  at  Pougkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  a  little  later,  the  Classis 
of  Holland  was  received  under  its  care. 

It  seems  incredible  that  our  Holland  pioneers  rushed 
this  union  matter  through  the  way  they  did.  There  had 
been  no  newspaper  discussion  about  it  to  explain  the  pros 
and  cons  of  such  an  important  matter  as  a  union  with  a 
body  whose  very  name  was  not  correctly  known  among 
them,  even  by  the  ministers,  as  the  records  show.  No  con¬ 
gregational  meeting  had  been  held  to  weigh  the  matter. 
There  is  no  record  of  any  consistorial  discussion  on  the 
subject  or  any  instruction  given  to  delegates  at  Classis.  Fact 
is,  there  is  not  even  a  record  of  any  motion  of  Classis 
passed  as  the  basis  of  the  letter  of  President  Rolks,  al¬ 
though  this  is  considered  the  “formal  application”  of  the 
Classis  of  Holland  to  be  received  into  the  Reformed 
Church.  Rut  it  only  mentions  authorization  to  “give 
and  ask  all  such  information  as  may  be  necessary  to  pro- 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


43 


mote  the  desired  union”.  Moreover,  there  had  been  abso¬ 
lutely  no  investigation  made  by  a  committee  of  Classis  to 
find  out  all  it  could  about  the  body  they  had  been  asked 
to  join.  Indeed,  of  such  a  loose  mode  of  procedure,  and  such 
a  haste  in  forming  an  ecclesiastical  union  we  have  not 
found  a  parallel  anywhere  in  Church  History.  In  our  days 
people  would  speak  of  “railroading  it  through”.  We  re¬ 
peat:  it  seems  incredible  the  way  our  sensible  pioneers 
rushed  the  matter.  Did  they  not  know:  haste  makes 
waste?  And  a  second  thing  looks  incredible :  the  way  the 
reservation  of  Dr.  Wyckoff  was  omitted  from  all  official 
documents.  But  others  had  not  forgotten  that  stipulation 
about  freedom  to  be  by  themselves  in  case  they  found  the 
connection  opposed  to  their  religious  prosperity  or  enjoy¬ 
ment.  It  was  too  vital  a  matter  to  them.  Our  pioneers 
were  Calvinists.  A  Calvinist  ever  is,  as  Bancroft  stated, 
a  fanatic  for  liberty.  Could  they  sign  away  their  eccle¬ 
siastical  freedom  without  the  calm  investigation  the 
Dutchman  usually  institutes  before  he  acts?  Indeed,  it 
has  occurred  to  the  writer  that  it  was  this  very  reservation 
which  made  our  pioneers  go  as  unexpectedly  swift  as  they 
did.  The  “union”  was,  at  best,  only  conditional  and  tenta- 
live,  so,  it  appears  to  us,  was  the  popular  impression. 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  responsibility  for  this  rests  par¬ 
ticularly  on  the  shoulders  of  Dr.  Wyckoff.  We  fail  to  see 
that  he  was  at  liberty  to  make  such  a  reservation  as  he  did. 
The  formation  of  a  church  union  is  more  than  merely  an 
ecclesiastical  business  transaction.  It  involves  spiritual 
and  moral  interests  as  well.  Had  he  foreseen  the  use  to 
be  made  of  it  later,  he  no  doubt  would  have  refrained 
from  offering  it. 

And  the  men  of  the  convention  of  1849  should  have 
realized  also  that  such  a  stipulation  was  not  proper.  They 
, should  have  investigated  thoroughly  what  kind  of  a 
church  they  were  about  to  join.  What  a  large  amount  of 
misery  they  might  have  prevented.  Had  they  forgotten 


44 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


the  question  of  the  prophet  of  old:  “Shall  two  walk  to¬ 
gether,  except  they  have  agreed?”  (Amos  3:  3.) 

In  our  work  De  Christelijke  Gereformeerde  Kerk ,  p.  72, 
we  made  the  statement  that  in  so  far  as  the  union  with  the 
R.  C.  A.  took  place  in  the  West  it  was  contrary  to  Re¬ 
formed  Church  polity,  because  the  men  who  attended  the 
meeting  with  Dr.  Wyckoff  were  not  properly  delegated  to 
transact  the  business  of  the  day — not  having  been  author¬ 
ized  by  their  consistories  in  so  far  as  the  records  show.  In 
fact,  the  meeting  was  not  a  classical  one  at  all,  but  simply 
a  convention,  a  meeting  of  ministers  and  consistory  mem¬ 
bers  hastily  called  together.  The  later  action  of  the  Clas- 
sis,  too,  was  not  strictly  formal;  the  action,  we  mean,  was 
not  based  on  a  properly  passed  motion.  In  so  far  as  the 
union  took  place  in  the  East,  we  asserted  it  was  illegal  be¬ 
cause  no  mention  was  made  at  all  of  the  reservation. 

We  have  not  seen  any  reason  as  yet  to  alter  the  state¬ 
ments  involved  in  the  above.  And  we  are  glad  that  no 
less  an  authority  on  Church  Polity  than  Prof.  Dr.  H.  Bouw- 
man  of  the  Kampen  Theological  School  wrote  in  his  Ame- 
rika,  p.  136:  “No  doubt  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which 
union  was  decided  from  the  side  of  the  Classis  of  Holland 
it  was  not  according  to  Church  polity  as  to  its  form”, 
(niet  kerkrechtelijk  juist  in  den  vorm),  while  on  p.  137  the 
admission  is  made:  “the  legality  of  this  union  conse¬ 
quently  is  subject  to  just  objection”  (de  wettigheid  van 
deze  vereeniging  is  dus  aan  rechtmatige  bedenking  onder- 
hevig.) 

How  Dr.  Bouwman  expresses  agreement  with  our  as¬ 
sertion,  p.  38  of  the  Gedenkboek  as  to  the  separation  being 
a  matter  of  duty  (plichtmatig),  we  shall  see  later  on. 

§6.  DISSATISFACTION 

In  the  Church  of  our  pioneers  there  was  not  a  perfect 
oneness  of  opinion  on  all  matters  ecclesiastical.  For  one 
thing:  it  certainly  was  not  the  common  view  that,  as  Dr. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


45 


Wyckoff  stated:  each  church  and  consistory  should  di¬ 
rect  and  manage  its  own  affairs,  and  the  inclination  to  the 
idea  that  the  jurisdiction  of  superior  judicatories  is  not  so 
scriptural  as  a  kind  and  fraternal  conference  and  advice 
could  not  have  been  that  of  all.  Such  would  be  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  independent  theory  of  church  govern¬ 
ment  (see  Chapter  X,  §1),  but  it  certainly  is  not  the  Re¬ 
formed  or  Presbyterian  conception.  There  was  difference 
of  opinion  also  about  the  Church  Order.  The  Holland 
Classis  had  adopted  the  entire  Handbook  (“Kerkelijk 
Handboekje”)  containing  the  regulations  of  all  the  Synods 
of  the  Dutch  Churches  held  prior  to  1618-T9,  and  not  sim¬ 
ply  the  Rules  of  the  Synod  of  Dordt  of  the  last  named 
years — something  which  was  bound  to  cause  confusion. 

Again,  there  were  differences  among  our  people  about 
the  length  of  the  term  of  service  of  elders  and  deacons — 
the  meeting  of  1849  seemingly  favored  life-tenure — where¬ 
as  the  Church  Order  of  Dordt  spoke  of  two  years’  terms. 
Some  of  our  pioneers  believed  that  all  children  of  the 
Church  should  be  baptized,  others  only  those  whose  par¬ 
ents,  one  or  both,  had  made  confession  of  faith.  Some  fa¬ 
vored  celebrating  the  great  feasts  of  the  Church  with  a 
two  days’  celebration,  others  considered  one  day  quite 
enough.  In  Holland,  Mich.,  the  hierarchial  bearing  of  Rev. 
Van  Raalte  and  his  consistory,  by  one,  (Krabshuis?) 
dubbed  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals”,  led  to  friction  as 
well  as  other  matters,  inevitable  since  in  those  days  consis¬ 
tories  busied  themselves  with  material  as  well  as  with 
spiritual  things.  In  other  places,  too,  there  were  disputes 
which  originated  in  or  were  increased  by  strife  about  land 
contracts  and  other  material  things. 

Rut  the  ever-recurring  and  constantly  increasing  source 
of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  centered  in  and  was  fed  by 
the  hasty  “union”  of  1849-’50.  It  was  an  ever-growing  con¬ 
viction:  we  joined  a  Church  we  should  not  have  united 
with. 


46 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


What  a  committee  should  have  detected  was  discov¬ 
ered  by  men  who,  during  a  shorter  or  longer  period,  so¬ 
journed  in  the  East,  notably  Gysbert  Haan,  formerly  from 
Hilversum,  friend  of  the  Rev.  S.  Van  Velzen,  the  sternest 
Calvinist  among  the  men  who  led  the  Secession  movement. 
These  men  saw  and  heard  different  things  about  the  doc¬ 
trines  and  practices  of  the  Reformed  Church  which  filled 
them  with  amazement  and  alarm.  They  also  learned 
various  things  from  men  who  belonged  to  the  True  Re¬ 
formed  Dutch  Church,  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York, 
which  already  in  1822  had  found  grounds  for  a  secession 
from  the  judicatories  of  the  Reformed  Church.  These 
grounds,  they  claimed,  were  the  toleration  of  Hopkinsian 
errors,  Arminian  teachings  on  the  atonement  and  election, 
abuse  of  sealing  ordinances,  and  fraternization  with 
Arminians. 

When  these  things  became  known  to  the  people  in  the 
Colony — voices  of  protest  were  soon  raised.  The  first 
ominous  sign  of  the  approaching  storm  was  seen  at  the 
consistory  meeting  of  Rev.  Van  Raalte’s  church,  held  Au¬ 
gust  22,  1853. 

Article  4:  “Deacon  (T.)  Keppel  had  learned  from 
Plaggermars,  that  the  church-member  Hoffman,  farmer, 
already  during  more  than  a  year  spreads  slander  about 
our  minister,  viz.,  that  his  reverence  for  the  sake  of  money, 
has  brought  our  congregation  into  an  impure  church”. 
Of  course,  our  soul  revolts  at  this  mention  of  mercenary 
motives.  Van  Raalte  stood  far  too  high  for  this.  But  that 
the  Church  which  had  been  joined  in  such  unexplainable 
or  at  least  unjustifiable  haste,  was  impure ,  became  the 
conviction  of  an  ever-increasing  number  of  people  in  the 
Colony.  The  following  is  a  resume  of  what  was  usually 
objected  to: 

(1)  Departure  from  the  Calvinism  of  the  standards — 
particularly  as  to  the  two  points  just  mentioned, 
atonement  and  election. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


47 


(2)  Neglect  of  Catechism-preaching  and  teaching. 

(3)  The  use  of  800  hymns,  contrary  to  the  Church  Or¬ 
der  of  Dordrecht — a  matter,  by  the  way,  which  had 
been  discussed  vehemently  in  Holland,  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century  in  what  was  called  “Gezangen- 
strijd”  or  controversy  about  the  hymns  which  had 
been  forced  upon  the  Church. 

(4)  The  toleration  of  Free  Masons  as  members  in  good 
standing. 

(5)  Private  baptisms  taking  the  place  of  public  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  sacrament  in  connection  with 
preaching,  according  to  Reformed  principle. 

(6)  Admission  of  non-reformed  people  to  the  Com¬ 
munion  table :  open  communion. 

(7)  Neglect  of  family-visiting  as  required  by  the 

*  Church  Order. 

Additional  grievances  were  found  with  the  opening  of 
pulpits  to  preachers  of  various  denominations,  while  sev¬ 
eral  expressed  disapproval  of  the  way  wherein  the  right  of 
the  Dutch  Secession  was  denied.  The  fact  that  some  of  the 
pastors  recommended  Baxter’s  Call ,  condemned  as  Armin- 
ian  by  such  men  as  Erskine,  Marshall  and  Comrie,  was 
also  considered  a  severe  grievance.  (Compare  Acht  Nacht - 
teekenen.  Appendix  II.  of  this  work.) 

There  was  much  debating  of  the  matter  among  our 
people  in  those  days  in  private  conversation  and  at  consis- 
torial  meetings.  A  “rain  of  protests”  at  Classis  followed. 
There  was  evidently  a  pleading  that  all  of  the  brethren 
might  return  to  the  “standpoint  of  1849”,  as  their  former 
condition  and  position  was  called.  But  most  of  the  cler¬ 
ical  leaders  defended  the  “East”  as  much  and  as  long  as 
they  could.  A  breach  appeared  more  and  more  unavoid¬ 
able.  It  occurred  less  than  a  decade  after  our  people 
settled  in  Michigan.  The  church  of  our  pioneers, 
organized,  united  with  the  R.  C.  A.,  was  soon  to  be  dis¬ 
united. 


48 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§7.  THE  PARTING  OF  THE  WAYS,  APRIL  8,  1857 

As  the  Secession  of  1834  had  forerunners,  so  did  the 
Movement  of  1857.  As  early  as  1853  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Smit 
and  the  greater  part  of  his  Drenthe  church  had  severed 
connections  with  the  Holland  Classis  and  joined  the  Asso¬ 
ciate  Reformed  Church ,  usually  called  the  “Scottish 
Church”,  a  body  which  in  1858  was  one  of  the  two  groups 
which  combined  to  form  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

During  the  spring  of  1856,  J.  Gelock  and  G.  Haan  and 
others  in  Grand  Rapids,  sent  their  resignations  to  their 
consistory  and  began  to  hold  separate  divine  services. 
A.  Krabshuis  had  left  the  Holland  congregation  already 
during  January  of  1856,  and  H.  W.  Dam  was  dismissed 
from  the  Vriesland  church,  March,  1856.  January  25, 1857, 
the  Rev.  H.  G.  Klyn,  joined  the  brethren  Gelock  and  Haan 
and  their  following.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Holland  Clas¬ 
sis  on  the  8th  of  April,  1857,  formal  notices  of  withdrawal , 
to  return  to  the  standpoint  of  1849,  were  on  the  table  from 
the  congregations  of  Graafschap  and  Polkton,  from  the 
Rev.  K.  Vanden  Rosch  and  his  Noordeloos  church,  and 
from  the  Rev.  H.  G.  Klyn.  Rev.  Vanden  Rosch’s  letter  was 
harsh,  in  keeping  with  his  character,  as  we  shall  see  later. 
Rev.  Klyn’s  letter  contained  a  pathetic  plea  for  his  breth¬ 
ren  of  the  Classis  to  unite  with  him  on  the  same  platform. 
The  missive  of  the  Graafschap  consistory — which  re¬ 
minded  of  Dr.  Wyckoff’s  reservation — pleaded  in  the 
same  way  as  Rev.  Klyn’s  epistle.  “Rrethren,  we  rejoice 
that  nearly  the  entire  congregation.  . .  .again  occupies  the 
platform  (standpunt)  on  which  our  fathers  enjoyed  so 
much  happiness  (zaligheid),  and  0,  we  should  rejoice  still 
more  if  the  King  of  the  Church  would  persuade  you  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  us  all.  The  God  of  love  may  be  your  Coun¬ 
sellor  and  Leader  to  walk  in  the  path  of  truth”.  The 
letter  of  Polkton’s  consistory  also  spoke  of  walking  on  the 
way  of  the  fathers  as  its  cordial  wish  and  prayer. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


49 


But  all  this  pleading  was  in  vain.  The  Classis  of  Hol¬ 
land,  in  its  majority,  received  and  filed  the  communica* 
tions  alluded  to,  without  further  action.  The  Church  of 
our  pioneers  was  disunited.  Its  small  minority  effected  a 
classical  organization  April,  1857,  at  Holland,  Mich.,  the 
Rev.  Klyn  acting  as  president  and  the  Rev.  Vanden  Bosch 
as  clerk.  The  old  standards  were  displayed  and  acknowl¬ 
edged — the  Forms  of  Unity  of  the  fathers,  and  their  liturgy 
and  Church  Order — and  it  was  resolved  to  notify  the  Se- 
ceder  Church  in  the  Old  Home  of  what  had  transpired  in 
the  New  World.  In  a  Letter,  sent  to  the  Dutch  Synod,  and 
dated  Grand  Rapids,  April  24,  1857,  the  Revs.  Klyn  and 
Vanden  Bosch  asserted  that  fundamental  errors  existed  in 
the  Reformed  Church,  especially  as  to  general  atonement, 
and  the  desire  was  expressed  to  be  acknowledged  as  a  part 
of  the  seceded  Reformed  Church  in  the  Netherlands,  that 
it  might  assist  with  counsel  and  help.  (See  Appendix  I.) 

How  Synod  acted  on  this  we  shall  see  in  Chapter  III,  §5. 

§8.  THE  RIGHT  TO  A  PLACE  IN  THE  SUN 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  movement  of  1857  was 
to  be  condemned  by  those  who  preferred  to  remain  in  the 
Reformed  Church.  History  is  full  of  parallel  facts.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  anathematized  the  Reformers 
and  to  this  day  calls  the  Reformation  a  revolt.  The  Seces¬ 
sion  of  1834  has  been  branded  by  some  champions  of  the 
Established  Church  as  a  denial  of  the  work  of  God  who 
made  the  “Hervormde”  Church  a  mother  of  the  nation, 
whereas  the  Secession  was  not  the  Lord’s  work  but  that  of 
men.  (De  Stigter,  Vaderlandsche  Kerlc,  p.  90.)  The  sec¬ 
ond  reformatory  movement  in  the  Netherlands  which  in 
1886  led  to  the  Doleantie  under  Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  has  been 
described  as  having  started  under  the  curse  of  God  (Ban¬ 
ner,  January  4, 1923). 


50 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


In  Chapter  I,  §7  we  already  related  that  an  author  in 
America  as  late  as  1922,  characterized  the  Seceders  of  1834 
as  men  who  vociferated  their  appeals  to  the  Fathers  of 
Dordt,  but  in  their  ignorance  and  anger  tore  the  doctrines 
and  practices  of  these  fathers  to  shreds.  When  one  so  far 
removed  from  the  time  and  scene  as  Mr.  Van  Eyck,  feels 
thus  about  the  men  of  1834,  there  is  but  little  room  for 
wonder  that  he  also  was  stirred  up  to  write  300  pages,  “to 
show  that  the  Reformed  Church  of  1850  was  the  histor¬ 
ical  continuation  of  the  real  Reformed  Church  of  the  era 
of  Dordt,  comparatively  unsullied  by  the  ^vaves  of  Euro¬ 
pean  or  New  England  rationalism . and  of  the  unbal¬ 

anced  doctrines  and  extravagances  of  the  Dutch  Seces¬ 
sion  of  eighty  years  ago — a  Church  from  which  the  Seces¬ 
sion  of  the  Western  Hollanders  in  1857  proved  to  be  an 
illegal,  unscriptural  and  unreformed  schism,  based  not 
indeed  entirely  on  wrong  intentions,  but  on  ignorance  of 
the  distinctive  features  of  Reformed  Churches”,  (p.  319). 
Over  against  these  sweeping  and  harsh  contentions,  we 
claim  that  the  movement  of  1857  was  legal ,  scriptural ,  and 
Reformed,  and  giving  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  “a 
right  to  a  place  in  the  sun” — to  borrow  a  well-known 
phrase. 

(1)  The  movement  of  1857  was  legal  because  it  was 
in  harmony  with  the  reservation  recorded  in  §4  above,  giv¬ 
ing  our  forebears  liberty  “at  any  time  they  found  an  eccle¬ 
siastical  connection  opposed  to  their  religious  prosperity 
or  enjoyment  to  bid  us  [the  Reformed  Church]  a  fraternal 
adieu  and  be  by  themselves”.  This  reservation  was  of 
much  wider  scope  than  some  have  been  willing  to  admit. 
It  referred  not  simply  to  “bondage”  and  “tyranny”,  named 
in  the  preceding  sentence,  but  to  prosperity  and  enjoy¬ 
ment — far  broader  conceptions.  And  about  this  prosper¬ 
ity  and  enjoyment  “they”,  and  not  others,  were  to  judge. 
As  a  lawyer  who  had  carefully  gone  over  the  evidence  sub¬ 
mitted  in  the  Landmarks ,  put  it:  “An  impartial  critic 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS  ' 


51 


cannot  fail  to  read  in  these  words  so  often  quoted  the  pos¬ 
sibility  and  opportunity  for  a  separation.  The  question 
then  presents  itself  as  to  how  such  desired  separation  was 
to  be  brought  about.  Was  it  to  be  through  resolutions  and 
acts  of  individuals  of  local  congregations,  or  only  through 
the  actions  of  an  organized  body  of  superior  jurisdiction? 
Where  a  formal  union  existed,  the  door  was  closed  for  the 
last  named  course.  Only  the  other  two  avenues  remained 
open  and  were  followed  when  that  step  was  taken.  The 
brethren  who  left  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  either  in¬ 
dividually  or  collectively,  felt  that  by  so  doing  they  could 
preserve  longer  their  individual  characteristic  and  have 
greater  opportunity  for  self-expression.  Time  and  history 
have  proven  that  to  be  a  fact.  The  Christian  Reformed 
Church  fills  its  own  place  in  the  religious  world  of  today, 
and  does  it  well.”  ( The  Banner,  February  15, 1923,  p.  107.) 

That  this  reservation  was  not  mentioned  later  on,  when 
the  union  was  consummated,  of  course,  does  not  alter  the 
situation.  It  had  been  named  at  the  June  meeting  (1849), 
which  formed  the  basis  for  the  later  transactions.  Its  spe¬ 
cific  mention  by  Dr.  Wyckoff  explains  what  otherwise 
might  be  considered  very  unseemly  haste  and  procedure, 
contrary  to  Reformed  Church  polity  and  Dutch  character. 
Withdrawal  on  the  basis  of  such  a  plain  and  broad  stipu¬ 
lation  was  entirely  legal. 

(2)  But,  was  it  scriptural?  People  who  place  the 
Word  of  God  above  any  human  word,  its  holy  Law  above 
any  other  law,  are  mainly  concerned  with  that  question. 
And  here,  too,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say:  the  movement 
of  1857  was  not  unscriptural,  as  charged,  but  in  harmony 
with  Holy  Writ.  In  our  Christelijke  Gereformeerde  Kerk 
we  have  devoted  an  entire  chapter  to  prove  the  Return  of 
1857  legal,  a  matter  of  duty,  and  justified  by  history 
(Chapter  V).  Let  us  here  name  but  one  thing:  Free  Ma¬ 
sonry.  We  have  the  assertions  made  at  various  times  by 
leaders  and  classical  meetings  of  the  Reformed  Church 


52 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


that  Free  Masonry  is  “anti-republican,  anti-christian,  and 
anti-Reformed”.  These  assertions  were  based  on  careful 
investigation  of  official  Masonic  literature  and  substanti¬ 
ated  by  the  testimony  of  converted  Masons.  The  Deism 
underlying  Free  Masonry,  its  exclusion  of  the  Christ  as  the 
only  Savior,  in  order  to  avoid  giving  offense  to  Jews  and 
liberals,  who  belong  to  the  Order,  its  fearful  oaths,  its 
bombastic  nomenclature,  its  sinister  influence  on  the  Com¬ 
monwealth,  its  honey-combing  of  the  churches, — all  these 
and  more  things  prove  Free  Masonry  to  be  contrary  to  the 
precepts  of  our  Lord.  Even  the  General  Synod  of  the 
R.  C.  A.  in  1870  declared  officially,  “the  path  of  prudence 
and  safety  lies  outside  of  all  oath-bound  secret  societies”. 
But  a  number  of  Reformed  church-members,  ministers  as 
well  as  laymen,  belonged  to  this  Secret  Order  during  the 
period  of  agitation  which  led  to  the  movement  of  1857. 
Neither  at  that  time,  nor  before  it,  nor  afterwards  did  the 
Reformed  Church  ever  take  a  decided  stand  against  it.  In¬ 
stead,  the  evil  has  been  allowed  to  grow  unhindered.  We 
have  the  testimony  of  a  man  like  Dr.  H.  Bavinck :  “More 
than  half  of  the  preachers  of  the  Reformed  Church  belong 
to  the  lodge”.  (Dr.  Herman  Bavinck ,  by  V.  Hepp,  p.  308.) 

Now  what  does  the  Bible  say  about  such  fellowshiping 
of  the  people  of  God  with  the  children  of  the  world?  Paul 
tells  us,  2  Cor.  6:  14-19:  “Be  not  unequally  yoked  with 
unbelievers:  for  what  fellowship  have  righteousness  and 
iniquity?  or  what  communion  hath  light  with  darkness? 
And  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial?  or  what  por¬ 
tion  hath  a  believer  with  an  unbeliever? . wherefore 

come  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye  separate  saith  the 
Lord,  and  touch  no  unclean  thing;  and  I  will  receive  you, 
and  will  be  to  you  a  Father,  And  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and 
daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty.”  In  view  of  such 
apostolic  injunction,  and  on  the  basis  of  what  Reformed 
authorities  have  said  about  Free  Masonry,  we  aver  that 
the  movement  of  1857  was  scriptural.  The  brethren  of 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


53 


Graafschap  and  others  who  discussed  the  subject  as  one 
of  their  grievances  against  the  Reformed  Church,  were 
keen  enough  to  see  this,  even  in  their  day,  when  there  was 
not  as  much  light  on  it  as  we  have  at  present. 

(3)  Was  the  movement  of  1857  an  un-Re f ormed 
schism,  as  claimed,  or  in  line  with  Reformed  precedent? 
And  we  assert  that  it  was  in  harmony  with  what  Protes¬ 
tants  throughout  the  ages  and  in  different  countries  have 
practised.  The  Reformation,  as  we  saw  in  Chapter  I,  §4, 
was  a  protest  against  departures  from  the  marks  of  the 
true  Church  and  an  endeavor  to  have  the  original  purity 
of  the  body  of  Christ  restored.  The  Secession  of  1834,  as 
related  in  §7  above,  was,  in  its  essence,  a  movement 
of  the  same  character.  So  were  the  great  Free  Church 
movements  in  their  days,  the  middle  of  the  preceding  cen¬ 
tury,  in  Scotland,  Switzerland,  and  elsewhere,  and  long 
before  them  those  of  the  Waldenses  of  Italy  and  the  Hussites 
of  Rohemia.  Now,  we  claim  that  the  withdrawal  from  the 
communion  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  in  1857, 
was  a  justifiable  following  of  the  precedents  set  by  others. 
It,  too,  as  related  in  §7  above,  was  a  protest  against  de¬ 
partures  from  the  marks  of  the  true  Church  and  an  at¬ 
tempt  to  bring  about  the  restoration  of  the  purity  of  the 
Church  which  our  forebears  had  come  to  understand  and 
love  in  the  Church  across  the  Atlantic.  They  had  serious 
scruples  of  conscience  about  a  number  of  things  they  had 
discovered  in  the  communion  they  had  joined  post  haste. 
Lording  it  over  their  conscience — that  would  have  been 
un-Ref ormed.  To  follow  its  dictates — has  ever  been  con¬ 
sidered  a  duty  before  God  as  well  as  men.  And  the  more 
so,  since  their  act  of  separation  included  what  was  quoted 
above:  the  preservation  of  their  individual  character¬ 
istics  and  greater  opportunity  for  self-expression.  Theirs 
were  different  ideals  about  the  future  as  well  as  different 
conceptions  of  the  past. 


54 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


That  leads  us  to  one  more  observation  confirming  the 
right  to  separate  denominational  existence. 

§9.  THE  PLURIFORMITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  OUR  MISSION 

In  the  fact  of  the  pluriformity  of  the  Church  of  God  we 
find  our  fourth  ground  for  claiming  a  place  in  the  sun. 
The  acknowledgement  of  this  pluriformity  is  of  compara¬ 
tively  recent  date.  Augustine  in  his  days  sketched  the 
ideal  of  one  Church,  embracing  all  mankind,  a  world- 
church,  the  City  of  God  on  earth.  Something  of  that  ideal 
led  the  popes  to  push  their  claims  for  supremacy  among 
the  rulers  of  the  world.  They  found  serious  opposition  in 
the  appearing  of  new  national  ideals.  Calvin  in  his  days 
and  in  line  with  these  new  aspirations,  spoke  of  national 
churches.  The  nation  was  to  be  the  body,  of  which  the 
Church  was  to  be  the  soul.  There  was  room  in  such  a 
state  for  only  one  Church,  the  established  one.  What  was 
outside  of  that  was  “false”,  spurious.  It  was  something  of 
that  idea  that  caused  Brakel  to  write  as  he  did  about  those 
who  “seceded” — sentiments  which  often  have  been  quoted 
in  condemnation  of  secession  movements  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic. 

But  facts  are  stubborn  things.  As  the  Word  of  God 
was  studied,  as  new  church  organizations  appeared,  mani¬ 
festing  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  doing  His  Kingdom  work, 
people  began  to  revise  their  opinion.  It  was  assented  to, 
in  course  of  time,  that  during  this  dispensation,  until  Anti¬ 
christ  appears,  the  terms  “false”  and  “true”  are  relative 
ideas  and  not  absolute  ones.  (Cf.  Kuyper,  Reformatie ,  p. 
114.)  The  one  invisible  Church  of  God  reveals  itself  not 
exclusively  in  one  manifestation,  but  in  various  groups  of 
believers  or  denominations.  Especially  Dr.  A.  Kuyper 
brought  out  the  idea  of  the  pluriformity  of  the  Church 
which  expresses  the  above.  It  was  God’s  design,  that  at 
Babel  the  one  humanity  should  separate  in  order  to  de- 


THE  CHURCH  OF  OUR  PIONEERS 


55 


velop  human  life  in  national  manifestations.  Each  of  the 
peoples  was  to  carry  out  its  own  mission  and  to  contribute 
what  it,  and  only  it,  could  contribute  to  the  world’s  devel¬ 
opment.  And  so  the  one  invisible  Church  evidently  was 
designed  to  manifest  itself  in  different  forms,  each  to 
carry  out  its  own  particular  mission  and  to  furnish  its 
own  contribution  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  As  it  requires 
all  the  saints  to  comprehend  what  is  the  breadth  and 
length  and  height  and  depth  and  to  know  the  love  of 
Christ  which  passes  knowledge  (Eph.  3:  18, 19),  so  it  takes 
more  than  one  group  of  believers  to  manifest  the  riches  of 
the  counsel  of  our  God  in  planning  the  one  great  body  of 
Christ,  to  the  praise  of  His  glory,  world  without  end.  As 
Judge  Brewer  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  ex¬ 
pressed  it:  “denominations  exist,  will  exist  and  ought  to 
exist.  Their  existence  is  in  no  manner  inconsistent  with 
the  spirit  of  unity  which  should  animate  all.  They  only 
illustrate  the  great  principle  of  the  universe:  unity  in 
variety”.  Or,  as  Prof.  Honig  of  Kampen  stated  it:  “This 
pluriformity  is  in  part  the  work  of  Him  who  loves  va¬ 
riety”.  God’s  Old  Testament  people  during  their  wilder¬ 
ness  journey  marched  as  tribes  and  pitched  their  tents  as 
such,  each  tribe  in  its  place.  But  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
was  the  common  center.  And  so  during  the  journey  of  the 
New  Testament  Church,  God’s  Pilgrim  Army  marches  and 
encamps  as  denominational  regiments  and  national  brig¬ 
ades.  If  only  the  One  Covenant  God  be  ever  kept  in  the 
center  and  holy  jealousy  reign,  instead  of  Ephraim  envy¬ 
ing  Judah,  and  Judah  vexing  Ephraim,  (Isaiah  11:  13). 

As  to  the  mission  of  the  denomination  here  described, 
see  Chapter  V,  §8.  To  once  more  quote  Dr.  H.  Bouwman, 
“We  agree,  therefore,  with  what  Dr.  Beets  writes  on  page 
38  of  the  Gedenkboek :  ‘It  was  a  matter  of  duty  before 
God  and  men  to  be  by  themselves  as  they  had  begun  to 
do,  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  As  an  independent  group 
leaning  on  God’s  might,  standing  at  the  side  of  other  cal- 


56 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


vinistic  manifestations  of  the  body  of  Christ,  they  were  to 
cooperate  in  the  great  work  of  the  coming  of  God’s  King¬ 
dom  and  the  development  of  a  typical  American-Re¬ 
formed  Church  as  the  final  result’.”  ( Amerika ,  p.  154.) 
We  trust  that  on  the  grounds  given  no  true  lover  of  the 
Kingdom  will  deny  the  little  Christian  Reformed  regiment 
its  claim  to  separate  existence,  its  right  to  “a  place  in  the 
sun”. 

TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  can  you  say  about  the  church  life  of  our  pioneers? 

2.  What  do  you  know  of  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Church 
in  America? 

3.  Tell  of  Dr.  Wyckoff’s  visit  and  his  report. 

4.  What  was  the  reservation  which  he  offered  to  the  Michigan 
Dutch? 

5.  On  what  grounds  were  people  in  Michigan  dissatisfied  with 
the  union? 

6.  What  do  you  know  about  the  men  and  the  churches  of  the 
movement  of  1857? 

7.  What  was  done  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  separated 
churches,  April,  1857? 

8.  What  can  you  say  about  the  movement  of  1857  being  legal, 
scriptural  and  Reformed? 

9.  What  is  meant  by  the  pluriformity  of  the  Church? 

10.  What  should  we  consider  our  mission  and  contribution  as  a 
Church? 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

Chapters  II — V  of  “De  Christelijke  Gereformeerde  Kerk”. 

“Het  Rechtsbestaan  der  Hollandsche  Christelijke  Gereformeerde 
Kerk”  G  K  HcinkGS 

‘‘Outline  History  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church”,  H.  Vander 
Werp. 

“Amerika”,  Dr.  H.  Bouwman. 

See  also  Dr.  Bouwman’s  brochure  on  the  Church  Polity  Grounds 
of  the  Secession.  Published  1923. 

Very  valuable  for  the  earliest  history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America  is  Dr.  A.  Eekhof’s  “De  Hervormde  Kerk  in  Noord 
Amerika”,  1624 — 1664. 

Full  of  information:  Dr.  E.  T.  Corwin,  “Manual  of  the  Re¬ 
formed  Church”,  and  his  “Digest  of  Synodical  Legislation”. 

Cf.  the  titles  at  the  end  of  Chapter  I. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  DURING  ITS  PERIOD 
OF  STRUGGLING  EARLY  LIFE,  1857—1880 

§1.  The  Name  of  the  Church.  §2.  Periods  of  its  History.  §3.  The 
Struggle  to  Obtain  a  Foothold  as  an  Organization.  §4.  The 
Struggle  as  to  Ministerial  Forces.  §5.  Recognition  Abroad. 
§6t.  Struggles  about  Denominational  Undertakings.  §7.  Petty 
Points  of  Dispute,  and  Big  Things  Championed. 


§1.  THE  NAME  OF  THE  CHURCH 


HE  NAME  of  our  denomination,  Christian  Reformed, 


A  is  a  good  name,  because  it  stands  for  the  essentials  of 
our  religion.  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Episcopal, 
these  words  simply  indicate  the  system  of  church  govern¬ 
ment  accepted,  i.e.,  rule  respectively  by  elders,  congrega¬ 
tions  or  bishops.  The  name  Baptist,  singles  out  one  sacra¬ 
ment  as  if  preeminent.  Methodist,  that  only  stands  for 
certain  “methods”  in  religious  work.  Lutheran,  seems  to 
give  undue  honor  to  a  man.  But  in  our  name,  the  adjec¬ 
tive  Christian,  stands  for  the  great  truth  that  we  are  part 
of  Christianity,  while  Reformed,  denotes  that  we  belong 
to  the  Re-formed  or  purified  church,  which  went  through 
the  Reformation  struggle  (Chapter  I,  §4).  Essentials  are 
involved  in  this  title,  and  rightly  so.  Moreover,  it  is  of  re¬ 
spectable  antecedents  and  age.  When  in  1609  it  was  nec¬ 
essary  for  John  Robinson  and  his  fellow-pilgrims  in  Ley¬ 
den,  to  defend  themselves  as  to  their  faith,  they  stated  in 
a  petition  to  the  magistracy  that  they  were  “of  the  Church 
of  the  Christian  Reformed  religion”. 

And  in  1637,  during  the  heyday  of  Dutch  Calvinism, 
the  name  was  used  in  the  preface  of  the  famous  Dutch 
Bible  version  issued  by  the  authority  of  the  States  Gen¬ 
eral  of  the  United  Netherlands,  hence  the  name  “States- 
Bible”  (Staten-Bijbel).  Moreover,  the  first  Synod  of  the 


58 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Dutch  Seceders,  held  in  1836,  repeatedly  speaks  in  its  Min¬ 
utes  of  the  body  it  represented  as  “Chris telijke  Gerefor- 
meerde  Kerk”. 

But  our  Church  has  not  always  borne  this  title.  It  was 
a  struggle  to  obtain  it.  Our  denomination  was  officially 
nameless  till  1859,  when  the  title  “Holland  Reformed”  was 
adopted,  to  be  succeeded  in  1861  by  the  name,  “True 
Dutch  Reformed”,  in  order,  as  a  resolution  stated,  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  us  from  the  Reformed  Church  and  to  retain  our 
“Dutch  character”.  This  title  remained  in  use,  although 
not  without  protest,  until  1880,  when  the  name,  “Holland 
Christian  Reformed”  was  adopted.  Ten  years  later  it  was 
agreed  to  drop  the  word  “Holland”  because  American- 
and  German-speaking  churches  had  meanwhile  become 
part  of  our  organization.  This  title,  “Christian  Reformed” 
without  any  addition  to  it,  is  the  official  name  of  our  de¬ 
nomination.  That  our  title-page  adds  “in  North  America” 
is  simply  to  differentiate  it  from  a  like  named  body  in 
the  Netherlands. 

§2.  PERIODS  OF  ITS  HISTORY 

The  history  of  a  denomination  may,  to  some  extent,  be 
compared  to  that  of  an  individual  human  being.  First  is 
the  period  of  struggling  early  life.  A  struggle  it  is  indeed 
in  many  a  case,  physically  frail  as  young  life  often  is,  en¬ 
tailing  a  battling  with  disease.  There  is  a  mental  struggle 
as  new  sensations  and  experiences  are  met  with  day  after 
day.  Instinct  impels  to  action  rather  than  clear-cut  ideas. 
Life  is  self-centered.  Quarrels  with  comrades  are  not  in¬ 
frequent.  Then  comes  the  period  of  adolescence.  It  is 
marked  by  very  rapid  growth — physically,  especially  at 
first.  Mentally  it  is  a  time  of  expansion;  life  is  constantly 
widening  its  horizon.  A  spirit  of  teamwork  shows  itself. 
There  is  idealism,  noble  purposing — ambitious  program. 
But  also,  at  times,  turmoil  and  confusion,  with  extremes 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


59 


and  contradictions,  a  period  of  “storm  and  stress”.  Finally 
comes  early  manhood’s  day.  Vigor  marks  manhood,  and 
active  accomplishment  rather  than  idealistic  planning. 
Contact  with  others  is  established  for  definite  purposes, 
there  is  fixing  of  principles,  definition  of  a  life-task;  prac¬ 
tical  interests  are  advanced,  and  if  need  be,  there  is  a  reso¬ 
lute  facing  and,  if  possible,  settling  of  issues  which  seem 
to  conflict  with  the  mapped-out  program  of  life  or  the 
adopted  principle. 

Somewhat  following  this  analogy,  we  may  distinguish 
three  periods  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church : 

I.  The  Period  of  Struggling  Early  Life,  1857 — 1880. 

II.  The  Period  of  Adolescent  Growth,  1880 — 1900. 

III.  The  Period  of  Early  Manhood,  Vigor  and  Strife, 
1900—1920. 

I. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  STRUGGLING  EARLY  LIFE, 

1857—1880 

§3.  STRUGGLE  TO  OBTAIN  A  FOOTHOLD  AS  AN 

ORGANIZATION 

Struggle  may  indeed  be  the  guiding  idea  as  we  survey 
the  history  of  the  denomination  in  its  earliest  period — like 
childhood  life  in  many  ways  is  marked  by  it.  There  were 
various  causes  for  this.  In  the  first  place — there  was  the 
smallness  and  feebleness  of  the  movement  of  1857. 

At  the  classical  meeting  held  October,  1857,  the  first  one 
whose  Minutes  are  extant,  only  five  congregations  were 
represented:  Grand  Rapids,  Vriesland,  Noordeloos,  Graaf- 
schap,  and  Grand  Haven.  Polkton,  which  in  April,  1857, 
had  notified  the  Classis  of  Holland  of  its  withdrawal,  had 
by  this  time  returned  to  the  Reformed  Church.  At  the 
February,  1858,  Classis,  Grand  Haven  was  not  represented, 
and  both  Polkton  and  Grand  Haven  are  absent  from  the 


60 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


roll  of  Classis  for  years.  Up  to  1864  we  find  only  four  con¬ 
gregations  named  in  the  Minutes:  Grand  Rapids,  Vries- 
land,  Graafschap,  and  Noordeloos.  At  times  the  name 
Zeeland  is  joined  to  that  of  Noordeloos,  and  sometimes 
substituted  for  it.  How  many  communicant  members  had 
withdrawn  in  1857?  Comparison  of  statistics  shows  the 
following:  Grand  Rapids,  94  members;  Graafschap,  113; 
Vriesland,  about  20;  Noordeloos,  19;  a  total  of  about  250 
communicants.  The  number  of  families  probably  was  not 
above  150;  and  the  total  number  of  souls,  figured  at  an 
average  of  five  per  family,  must  have  been  about  750  at 
the  highest.  It  was  a  slow,  almost  imperceptible  growth  at 
first.  We  find  no  new  churches  organized  until  1864,  when 
Zeeland’s  name  is  recorded  separately.  Attempts  to  estab¬ 
lish  congregations  in  some  other  places  like  Milwaukee, 
brought  no  permanent  results. 

Rut  a  year  before  the  close  of  the  first  decade  a  change 
began  to  set  in.  Up  to  1866  the  True  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  was  found  only  in  the  State  of  Michigan,  in  the 
territory  of  the  Grand  and  Black  Rivers.  But  in  the  year 
just  named,  a  congregation  was  organized  in  Paterson, 
N.  J.,  in  the  East,  and  where  from  1850  to  1855  a  consider¬ 
able  number  of  Dutch  people  had  settled,  coming  from 
Goeree,  Texel,  and  Gelderland.  At  Pella,  Iowa,  in  the 
West,  as  well  as  at  Ridott,  in  Illinois,  churches  were  es¬ 
tablished  during  that  same  year,  1866.  In  1867  still  other 
churches  were  enrolled  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  at  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  in  Ohio,  so  that  it  was  resolved  the  next  year  to 
constitute  a  second  Classis,  that  of  Illinois,  consisting  of 
the  congregations  of  Chicago,  Low  Prairie  (South  Hol¬ 
land)  and  Ridott,  in  the  State  of  Illinois;  Gibbsville  (Oost- 
burg),  in  Wisconsin;  Cincinnati,  in  Ohio,  and  Steamboat 
Rock  (Wellsburg)  and  Pella,  in  Iowa.  And  so  rapidly  did 
the  new  Classis  grow,  that  by  1877  it  was  resolved  to  or¬ 
ganize  as  its  offshoot  a  new  Classis,  named  after  the  State 
of  Iowa,  and  consisting  of  the  congregations  of  Orange 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


61 


City,  Steamboat  Rock,  Hastings,  Pella,  Ackley,  and  Ridott. 
When  the  decision  was  made  to  constitute  the  Illinois 
Classis  (1868),  it  was  resolved  that  the  Michigan  churches 
should  call  their  classical  organization  after  their  State. 
To  this  body  the  Paterson  congregation  belonged  until 
1878  when  the  Classis  of  Hudson  could  be  organized,  con¬ 
sisting  of  the  churches  of  Paterson,  Passaic,  Hohokus,  Say- 
ville,  and  Rochester.  These  classical  bodies  met,  as  a  rule, 
twice  a  year,  composed  of  two  delegates  from  each  con¬ 
sistory.  Since  1865  a  joint  meeting  was  held  annually  at 
which  each  congregation  was  represented,  at  first  by  four 
and  later  by  two  consistory  members,  either  the  pastor  and 
an  elder,  or  in  the  case  of  vacant  charges,  two  elders.  But 
even  though  the  denominational  machinery  had  thus  been 
set  up  duly  and  was  functioning  regularly — what  a  small 
and  feeble  organization  the  denomination  was  up  to  1880! 
After  twenty-three  years  of  existence  there  were  only  39 
widely  scattered  congregations !  And  most  of  them  were 
so  small  that  the  entire  Hudson  Classis  reported  only  271 
families;  Illinois,  still  smaller,  but  175.  And  the  Iowa 
Classis  totaled,  in  its  seven  churches,  only  140  families! 
The  entire  denomination  numbered  no  more  than  3,566 
confessing  members.  It  had  been  indeed  a  day  of  con¬ 
tinuous  struggle  to  obtain  “a  place  in  the  sun”. 

§4.  STRUGGLE  AS  TO  MINISTERIAL  FORCES 

There  was  a  second  cause  for  this  struggling  character 
of  the  first  period.  It  was  the  smallness  of  its  ministerial 
force.  As  related  in  Chapter  II,  §6,  only  two  pastors 
served  notices  of  withdrawal  on  the  Classis  of  Holland  on 
the  notable  day  of  April  8,  1857.  There  are  evidences  of 
attempts  some  years  before  ’57  to  have  the  Classis  as  a 
whole  return  to  the  standpoint  of  1849.  But,  owing  largely 
to  the  attitude  of  their  leaders,  the  great  majority  of  our 
pioneers  was  unwilling  to  sever  relationship  with  the  Re- 


62 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


formed  Church,  and  of  the  ministers,  as  already  stated, 
but  two  cast  in  their  lot  with  those  who  preferred  indepen¬ 
dent  denominational  existence,  namely,  the  Revs.  H.  G. 
Klyn  and  K.  Vanden  Bosch.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the 
delegates  of  the  churches  which  had  withdrawn,  the  for¬ 
mer  acted  as  president  and  the  latter  as  secretary.  But 
already  at  the  very  next  meeting  of  the  Classis  it  was  re¬ 
ported  that  Rev.  Klyn  had  returned  to  the  Reformed 
Church.  It  seems  that  fears  about  his  future  motivated 
him  in  his  action,  and  perhaps,  trained  as  he  was  by  the 
brilliant  but  erratic  Scholte,  he  was  not  wholly  at  one  with 
the  leaders  of  the  Michigan  movement,  who  as  a  rule  were 
followers  of  the  more  conservative  wing  of  the  Dutch  Se¬ 
cession,  represented  by  De  Cock  and  Van  Velzen,  over 
against  the  Rev.  Brummelkamp  and  Van  Raalte  and  par¬ 
ticularly  Scholte. 

Moreover,  a  few  other  ministers  who  later  on  came 
from  abroad  to  join  the  True  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  re¬ 
mained  in  the  ranks  but  a  brief  season  and  their  with¬ 
drawal  caused  confusion  of  mind  in  all  cases,  and  defec¬ 
tion  in  some.  Even  some  of  the  most  active  leaders  of 
1857  among  the  laymen  disappointed  their  followers  at 
times,  a  few  of  them  never  re-joining  the  old  colors,  which 
at  one  time,  they  loudly  shouted  for. 

These  disheartening  experiences  impeded  the  growth 
of  the  organization  perceptibly,  especially  because 
through  them  the  number  of  ministers  remained  so  small. 
Up  to  1863  the  Rev.  K.  Vanden  Bosch  was  the  only  pastor 
to  shepherd  the  flock  of  1857.  Born  in  1818  with  a  limited 
education,  he  came  as  minister  from  Noordeloos  in  South 
Holland,  to  Noordeloos  in  Michigan,  in  1856.  He  sided 
heartily  with  De  Cock  and  Van  Velzen  in  Holland.  Van¬ 
den  Bosch  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  frequently 
revealed  a  violent  temper.  More  than  once  strained  rela¬ 
tionship  existed  between  him  and  his  people,  and  at  one 
time,  in  hot  anger,  because  he  felt  unjustly  treated,  he 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


63 


temporarily  withdrew  from  his  brethren.  He  traveled 
much  to  reach  the  scattered  churches,  with  a  yoke  of  oxen 
going  through  the  Michigan  forests.  He  was  a  man  of  the 
Jacksonian  type  with  its  good  and  its  bad. 

Quite  different  from  the  Rev.  Yanden  Bosch  was  the 
Rev.  H.  W.  Van  Leeuwen,  born  in  1807.  He  became  Yan¬ 
den  Bosch’s  colleague  in  1863,  as  pastor  of  the  Grand  Rap¬ 
ids  church.  Schoolmaster  in  the  Netherlands  at  first,  his 
pen  was  that  of  a  ready  writer,  as  his  publications  show, 
although  he  was  at  times  at  odds  with  his  brethren  about 
their  contents.  He  evidently  had  progressive  ideas,  and  as 
the  better  educated  of  the  two  pastors,  he  at  the  time  was 
the  first  one  to  whom  the  training  of  young  men  for  the 
ministry  was  entrusted  as  early  as  1863,  see  Chapter  YI,  §1. 

The  third  pastor  of  the  True  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
was  the  Rev.  D.  J.  Van  der  Werp,  born  in  1811,  a  man  who, 
more  than  the  two  just  named,  labored  with  pen  and 
tongue  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  young  denomina¬ 
tion.  Like  the  Rev.  Van  Leeuwen,  he  had  been  a  school 
teacher  in  Holland.  Persecuted  for  the  sake  of  his  ex¬ 
pressed  sympathy  for  De  Cock  and  his  doctrines,  he  had 
been  led  into  the  ministry.  Arriving  here  in  1864,  called  by 
the  Graafschap  church,  he  at  once  gave  himself  with  heart 
and  soul  to  the  cause  for  which  the  movement  of  1857 
stood.  He  traveled  far  and  near  to  organize  or  strengthen 
churches.  He  trained  quite  a  number  of  men  for  the  min¬ 
istry,  while  holding  busy  pastorates.  He  was  the  first 
Stated  Clerk  of  the  denomination  (General  Correspon¬ 
dent),  1868 — 1875,  and  editor  of  the  denominational  or¬ 
gan,  De  Waehter.  If  the  Rev.  Van  den  Bosch  was  of  the 
Jacksonian  type,  his  colleague  may  be  compared  to  Alex¬ 
ander  Hamilton  in  his  wonderful  leadership  and  great 
variety  of  patriotic  activity  when  America  was  still  young. 
The  Church  owes  a  great  deal  indeed  to  Rev.  Van  der 
Werp,  as  a  gifted  and  consecrated  man  of  God,  a  steady 
worker,  a  wise  leader,  and  loyal  to  the  core  to  the  cause 


64 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


and  creed  of  the  True  Dutch  Reformed  denomination. 

Another  valuable  addition  to  the  ministerial  ranks  was 
the  fourth  Netherland-ordained  man  who  remained  faith¬ 
ful  to  the  end,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Frieling,  who  arrived  in 
1866,  called  by  the  Vriesland  congregation.  He  was  well- 
versed  in  church  government  and  served  acceptably  for 
many  years,  much  longer  than  the  Rev.  F.  Hulst,  who 
came  in  1868,  and  who  amply  proved  both  his  zeal  and  his 
loyalty  to  his  denomination,  but  who  died  early.  The 
Rev.  S.  Raron,  arriving  in  1869,  as  Niekerk’s  pastor,  never 
took  a  prominent  part  in  denominational  affairs,  much 
less  than  the  Rev.  W.  Coelingh.  Of  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Roer, 
who  came  here  in  1873,  and  the  Rev.  G.  K.  Hemkes,  ar¬ 
riving  in  1877,  we  shall  hear  more  in  Chapter  VI. 

The  accession  of  these  last  named  men  was  greatly  in¬ 
strumental  toward  the  upbuilding  of  the  church  at  home 
and  the  obtaining  of  a  better  standing  abroad.  We  owe  a 
heavy  debt  of  gratitude  to  them  for  casting  in  their  lot  with 
our  people,  then  still  living  amid  pioneer  conditions,  with 
privations  of  all  sorts,  while  the  congregations  as  well  as 
the  denomination  still  were  in  their  formative  period  with 
all  the  unpleasant  features  of  such  a  critical  time  of  youth. 

Rut  whatever  meed  of  praise  is  due  the  pastors  who 
came  from  abroad  during  the  period  of  struggle,  we 
should  not  fail  to  be  appreciative  also  of  the  yeoman’s 
services  rendered  by  pioneer  ministers  who  were  more  or 
less  American-trained.  As  such  we  name  the  Rev.  E.  L. 
Meinders,  graduate  of  the  Dubuque  Presbyterian  School, 
and  during  January,  1869,  ordained  as  minister  of  the 
Steamboat  Rock,  Iowa,  church.  Another  worker,  who, 
with  his  congregation,  joined  during  the  years  of  struggle, 
was  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Sghepers,  of  Lafayette,  Ind.,  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  mentioned  in  Chapter  II,  §6. 
He  proved  to  be  a  worthy  addition  to  the  pioneer  ministry, 
and  so  did  his  cousin,  the  Rev.  J.  Schepers,  who  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  graduate  trained  in  our  circles 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


65 


and  ordained  as  early  as  1868.  Closely  rivaling  him  as  to 
the  honors  of  priority  of  education  and  ordination  in 
America,  is  the  Rev.  J.  Noordewier,  who  graduated  Feb¬ 
ruary,  1869,  together  with  Revs.  W.  Greve  and  J.  Stadt,  and 
who  outlived  all  the  ministers  of  the  pioneer  period  as  well 
as  many  of  later  decades.  He  excelled  dozens  in  activi¬ 
ties  for  Zion’s  welfare.  Rev.  Noordewier  was  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent  of  several  Synods,  Treasurer  of  many  funds,  writer 
of  numerous  articles  and  several  books,  and  Treasurer  of 
Synod  from  1883  onward,  enjoying  a  green  old  age.  An¬ 
other  man  of  importance  in  the  period  of  struggle  was  the 
Rev.  L.  Rietdyk  who  graduated  in  the  fall  of  1869.  His 
election  to  the  presidency  of  the  major  church  judicatories 
three  times  shows  that  he  was  considered  a  strong  man. 

While  mentioning  the  names  of  these  preachers,  we 
should  not  fail  to  note  the  service  rendered  by  some  elders 
of  the  period.  Church  history  is  more  than  a  record  of  the 
doings  of  ministers,  like  the  story  of  a  war  includes  more 
than  the  activity  of  generals.  Notable  is  the  record  of 
many  a  quiet  worker  of  the  period,  especially  among  the 
eldership.  When  “Seceder”  was  still  a  name  of  scorn, 
when  strength  was  feeble,  and  numbers  small,  when  min¬ 
isters  quarrelled  and  some  fled,  many  an  elder  stood  loy¬ 
ally,  bearing  without  complaint  the  heat  of  the  day  and 
the  cold  of  the  night  for  the  sake  of  the  Zion  they  had 
learned  to  love.  The  Christian  Reformed  Church  should 
ever  hold  in  grateful  memory  the  names  of  men  like 
J.  Gelock,  J.  Gezon,  G.  Haan  and  others  in  Grand  Rapids; 
J.  F.  Van  Anrooy  and  H.  Strabbing  and  others  at  Graaf- 
schap;  A.  Krabshuis  and  C.  Vorst  in  Holland,  and  H.  W. 
Dam  and  J.  Groen  at  Vriesland.  Even  though  some  fal¬ 
tered  at  times,  on  the  whole  there  must  have  been  a  faith¬ 
ful  eldership  in  those  days,  men  who  were  well  grounded 
in  the  truth  of  the  Reformed  Standards,  and  thoroughly 
at  home  in  the  works  of  the  writers  we  named  in  Chap¬ 
ter  I,  §6,  especial  Rrakel’s  Reasonable  Religion. 


66 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§5.  STRUGGLE  TO  OBTAIN  RECOGNITION  ABROAD 

A  third  cause  of  the  struggle  involved  in  the  period 
here  discussed  was  that  to  obtain  recognition  from  the  side 
of  the  Netherland  Church.  During  early  life  we  do  not 
possess  the  independent  spirit  of  later  years.  There  is  a 
leaning  on  the  parents,  a  desire,  in  undertakings  of  any 
worth-whileness,  of  paternal  approval.  But  in  the  case 
here  described,  many  disappointments  were  experienced; 
hope  deferred  made  the  heart  sick  at  times,  and  the  work 
hard  and  heavy.  Most  of  the  pastors  and  professors  of  the 
Secession  Church  of  Holland  at  first  felt  very  unsympa¬ 
thetic  toward  the  separation  movement  in  America.  This 
was  quite  generally  the  case  with  only  a  few  notable  ex¬ 
ceptions,  particularly  that  of  Prof.  Van  Yelzen,  whose 
sympathies  were  from  the  start  with  men  like  G.  Haan — 
one  of  his  fellow- workers  in  early  days.  As  already  re¬ 
lated,  Chapter  II,  §7,  at  the  Synod  of  1857  a  letter  was 
read,  signed  by  Rev.  Klyn  as  president,  and  Rev.  Vanden 
Bosch  as  secretary,  “seeking  union  with  the  Christian  Se- 
ceder  Reformed  Church  of  Holland”.  These  men  evidently 
desired  thus  to  strengthen  their  own  position,  as  well  as  to 
show  that  they  had  indeed  returned  to  the  standpoint  of 
1849.  But  they  were  disappointed.  Synod  stated  that  in 
view  of  contradictory  reports  from  America,  it  was  unable 
either  to  approve  or  to  disapprove  of  the  Secession  here, 
and  advised  them  to  act  carefully  and  according  to  God’s 
Word.  The  Synod  of  1860  read  a  letter  from  Rev.  Vanden 
Bosch,  complaining  about  the  “stepsisterly”  attitude  of  the 
Holland  Church,  and  asked  recognition  of  the  American 
churches,  but  again  in  vain.  Synod  replied  that  it  recog¬ 
nized  all  Churches  of  the  Reformed  faith  and  order,  but 
refused  to  say  anything  beyond  this.  At  the  Synod  of 
1866,  however.  Dr.  A.  C.  Van  Raalte  was  warmly  welcomed 
and  in  the  name  of  the  Netherland  Church  he  received  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  for  the  denomination  he  repre- 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


67 


sented.  The  separation  here,  he  had  declared  to  Synod, 
was  not  due  to  unorthodoxy,  but  the  result  of  the  presence 
in  America  of  “different  elements”  and  special  causes. 
When  in  1872  our  first  delegation  appeared  at  Synod,  J. 
Gelock,  J.  De  Jonge,  and  B.  De  Graaf,  they  were  seated 
only  after  considerable  debate  and  with  the  expressed 
declaration  of  Synod  that  it  refused  to  judge  the  case. 
This  aloofness  continued  to  the  next  period.  Some  of  the 
first  pastors  even  had  difficulty  in  obtaining  papers  of  dis¬ 
missal  to  the  American  denomination.  It  was  not  till  1880, 
and  consequently  at  the  opening  of  the  next  period,  that 
we  read  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  Holland 
extending  an  invitation  to  the  American  Church  to  be 
represented  at  its  General  Synod  of  1882.  (Acta,  1880, 
Article  17.) 

§6.  STRUGGLES  ABOUT  DENOMINATIONAL  UNDERTAKINGS 

Due  largely  to  this  attitude  of  the  Netherland  churches 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  pastors  from  abroad  could  be 
obtained.  This  led  to  another  struggle  period,  namely,  the 
one  to  obtain  a  Theological  School  for  the  training  of  the 
ministry — a  subject  which  for  various  reasons  is  discussed 
separately  in  Chapter  VI.  The  struggle  to  obtain  a  foot¬ 
hold  led  to  home  missionary  activity  (see  Chapter  VII), 
while  the  endeavor  to  defend  the  position  assumed  led  to 
the  publication  of  a  denominational  organ.  This  was 
called  De  Wachter,  whose  first  issue  is  dated  February  14, 
1868.  Its  first  editor  was  the  Rev.  D.  J.  Vander  Werp, 
while  Mr.  C.  Vorst  of  Holland,  Michigan,  was  the  publisher 
and  owner.  But  it  was  only  with  considerable  difficulty 
that  this  small  semi-monthly  could  be  maintained,  and 
decades  passed  by  before  it  became  a  paying  venture,  al¬ 
though  all  these  years  it  rendered  valuable  service,  not 
alone  in  defending  the  movement  of  1857  and  the  truth 
it  stood  for,  but  also  in  creating  unity  and  cooperation 


68 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


among  the  constituency  of  the  struggling  infant  Church. 
A  Yearbook  for  1875  proved  to  be  an  utter  failure  finan¬ 
cially.  Attempts  to  publish  series  of  sermons  also  were 
far  from  successful.  Fortunately  for  the  cause,  however, 
regardless  of  whether  it  “paid”  or  not,  in  1869  there  was 
published  a  booklet  called  Brochure ,  addressed  to  the 
Synod  of  the  Netherland  Church.  Its  title  stated,  that  it 
was  “An  exposition  based  on  official  sources  of  the  actual 
conditions  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  (Dutch)  Church  in 
America  and  a  defence  of  the  basis  of  the  return  of  the 
True  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  America  to  the  old  stand¬ 
point  forsaken  in  1849”.  Likewise  in  defence  of  the  move¬ 
ment  of  1857  was  a  Zamenspraak  (dialogue),  published 
in  1874  by  the  Rev.  F.  Hulst.  Mr.  G.  Haan’s  booklet,  Stem 
Eens  Belasterden  (Voice  of  a  Slandered  One),  1871,  while 
more  of  a  personal  nature,  served  to  throw  valuable  light 
on  conditions  prior  to  the  withdrawal  of  1857. 

§7.  PETTY  POINTS  OF  DISPUTE  AND  BIG  THINGS 

CHAMPIONED 

As  we  expressed  it  in  our  simile  about  Periods  of  His¬ 
tory,  there  is  a  battling  in  life’s  early  days  against  all 
kinds  of  infantile  diseases  as  well  as  frequent  quarreling 
with  comrades.  This  also  applies  in  a  measure  to  the 
Church  we  are  writing  about.  As  to  disease  we  shall  say 
something  in  the  next  Chapter.  As  to  quarreling — how 
frequently  the  pages  of  the  Minutes  of  early  meetings  of 
consistories,  Classes  and  General  Meetings  are  disgraced 
with  matters  which  mark  unbrotherly  strife !  Petty  things, 
most  of  them.  For  instance,  in  those  days  there  was  con¬ 
siderable  diversity  of  opinion  about  the  celebration  of  the 
day  respectively  following  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Pente¬ 
cost.  Some  insisted  on  holding  church  services  on  these 
“second  holidays”  because  prescribed  by  the  Church  Or¬ 
der,  while  others  refused  to  observe  them,  claiming  the 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


69 


practice  smacked  of  Romanism.  The  question  of  the  right 
of  individuals  to  carry  fire  insurance  disturbed  many 
churches  during  a  long  period,  and  so  did  the  discussion 
about  the  rights  of  baptized  members  to  present  their  chil¬ 
dren  at  baptism.  There  was  narrowness  displayed  at 
times  in  petty  quarrels  about  non-essentials,  such  as  some, 
for  instance,  objecting  to  have  elders  read  sermons  from 
the  pulpit  platform  instead  of  from  the  reader’s  desk. 
Many  saw  great  sin  in  having  corpses  in  the  church-build¬ 
ings  during  funeral  services.  The  vestibule  had  to  suffice 
for  showing  the  remains  to  the  friends  present.  Flowers 
on  the  coffin  were  considered  worldly,  and  the  covering 
up  of  the  excavated  sand  near  the  grave,  was  wicked  hid¬ 
ing  of  death’s  horror.  Some  looked  with  disfavor  upon 
the  making  of  photographs  as  contrary  to  the  Second 
Commandment.  A  few  considered  beards,  and  especially 
mustaches,  taboo,  while  whistling  was  supposed  to  be 
“calling  the  devil”.  Ideas  about  personal  adornment, 
somewhat  reminding  of  those  of  Quakers  and  Mennonites, 
were  entertained  by  a  number.  What  might  be  called 
“tradition  of  the  elders”  was  adhered  to  at  times,  as  when 
the  Rev.  Van  Leeuwen  was  compelled  to  retract  that  the 
Pope  was  not  the  Antichrist.  That  ever  new  light  breaks 
forth  from  the  Word,  as  John  Robinson  told  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  on  their  way  to  New  England  in  1621,  and  that 
there  is  and  should  be  logical  and  biblical  growth  and  de¬ 
velopment,  also  of  the  Calvinistic  system  of  truth  was,  we 
presume,  not  grasped  by  many,  if  any,  of  our  Pilgrim  Fa¬ 
thers  of  Michigan.  Repeated  resolutions  about  the  reten¬ 
tion  of  the  Dutch  tongue  “in  generations”  testified  more  of 
love  for  the  old  than  of  a  sense  of  obligation  to  the  new 
Fatherland,  although  it  bore  good  fruit,  at  least  in  one  re¬ 
spect:  in  fathering  and  fostering  the  Christian  School 
movement  (see  Chapter  VI,  §6). 

But  at  the  same  time,  many  big  and  noble  things  were 
championed  also  in  those  days,  as  even  in  childhood’s 


70 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


years  there  may  be  surprising  idealism  at  times.  Possibly, 
as  in  a  person’s  formative  period  of  life,  instinct  impels  to 
action  rather  than  clear-cut  ideas  and  fixed  principles,  so 
our  fathers,  we  presume,  were  not  always  conscious  of  it 
that  this  or  that  action  was  deduced  from  Reformed  prin¬ 
ciple.  Rut  they  somehow  felt  as  a  rule,  intuitively,  whether 
or  not  it  was  in  harmony  with  it.  For  instance,  from  the 
very  beginning,  the  Movement  of  1857  stood  foursquare 
for  the  old  unadulterated  Calvinism  of  the  Creed  (Chap¬ 
ter  IX,  §1).  Not  alone  were  the  Forms  of  Unity  and  Lit¬ 
urgy  (Chapter  VIII),  and  the  Church  Order  of  Dordrecht 
(Chapter  X),  accepted  as  the  fundamentals  at  the  first 
classical  meeting,  as  we  have  already  seen,  but  at  the  April 
Classis  of  1861  it  was  reiterated  and  affirmed  unanimously 
that  ministers,  elders,  deacons,  and  school  teachers  should 
subscribe  to  the  standards  of  the  Church  unconditionally. 
The  preaching  and  teaching  of  Reformed  truth  was  car¬ 
ried  on  regularly.  That  head  knowledge  was  not  consid¬ 
ered  sufficient  to  assume  vows  of  church-membership  is 
plain  from  the  decision  of  the  time  that  the  Compendium 
should  be  the  guiding  line  if  people  made  confession  of 
faith,  and  that  not  alone  as  to  doctrine  but  also  as  to  life. 
The  Psalter  in  its  new  (Dutch)  version  was  maintained, 
and  as  to  the  separated  life  we  find  not  alone  the  adher¬ 
ents  of  Free  Masonry  excluded,  but  all  who  joined  secret 
societies.  There  was  testimony  against  the  saloon  as  early 
as  1861,  and  in  the  dark  days  of  our  Civil  War,  when  dis¬ 
loyalty  reared  its  head  here  and  there,  a  resolution  was 
adopted  to  censure  the  “copperhead”. 

No,  indeed,  they  were  far  from  perfect  these  pioneers 
of  our  bands  in  America.  They  emphasized  the  “pilgrim” 
part  of  the  chitfeltian  life  far  more  than  the  “soldier”  side 
of  it — whereas  Christianity  should  include  both.  What  is 
worse — the  pilgrims  indulged  far  too  much  in  fighting 
among  themselves  instead  of  opposing  the  common  foe 
and  forging  ahead  that  God’s  Kingdom  might  come  in 


STRUGGLING  IN  EARLY  LIFE 


71 


them,  around  them  and  through  them.  But  while  all  this 
is  true,  there  is  also  another  statement  due  these  fathers 
and  founders  of  our  Church. 

A  study  of  years,  of  documents  and  printed  matter,  has 
shown  us  to  our  own  satisfaction,  that  the  men  of  1857  on 
the  whole  were  men  who,  as  true  Calvinists,  reckoned  with 
God,  who  felt  for  the  Reformed  principle,  and  who  re¬ 
vered  the  Old  Bible,  as  God’s  inspired  revelation  of  sov¬ 
ereign  love.  Indeed,  it  was  early  life’s  struggle,  with  child¬ 
hood’s  limitations.  But  just  like  some  children  whose 
early  years  are  tilled  with  all  kinds  of  privations,  seem 
able  to  weather  all  storms  and  come  out  more  vigorous 
than  others,  so  it  was  also  in  the  case  of  the  Church  whose 
history  we  sketch.  Its  early  life  might  be  full  of  struggle; 
its  adolescence  would  reveal  remarkable  vitality. 

TEST  QUESTIONS 


1.  What  can  you  say  in  defense  of  the  name  of  our  Church? 

2.  Describe  the  three  Periods  of  its  Church  History. 

3.  Which  are  the  four  oldest  churches  of  our  denomination  in 
Michigan? 

4.  Mention  the  first  four  Holland-trained  ministers. 

5.  Mention  the  leading  America-trained  men  among  our 
pastors. 

6.  What  was  the  attitude  of  the  Church  of  the  Fathers  in  the 
Netherlands? 

7.  What  do  you  know  about  the  earliest  training  of  our  min¬ 
isters?  Why  was  it  undertaken,  and  when? 

8.  What  can  you  say  about  missionary  activities  of  the  Period? 

9.  Mention  the  earliest  Church  publications. 

10.  Which  were  the  nobler  things  advocated  during  the  early 
Period? 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

“De  Christelijke  Gereformeerde  Kerk”,  Henry  Beets,  (Chap.  VI). 
“Het  Rechtsbestaan  der  Hollandsche  Christelijke  Gereformeerde 
Kerk”,  G  K.  Hemkes. 

“An  Outline  of  the  History  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church”, 
Henry  Vander  Werp. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  DURING  ITS 
ADOLESCENT  PERIOD  OF  GROWTH,  1880—1900 

§1.  Growth  in  Numbers.  §2.  The  Ministry  as  Factor  in  the  Growth. 
§3.  The  Anti-Masonic  Movement  as  Explaining  the  Increase. 
§4.  The  Growing  German  Element.  §5.  Growth  Through 
Union  with  the  Classis  of  Hackensack.  §6.  The  Americaniza¬ 
tion  Movement.  §7.  Growth  in  the  Activities  for  the  Kingdom 
of  God — The  Press  and  Society-life.  §8.  Adolescence’s  “Storm 
and  Stress”.  Doctrinal  Controversies.  §9.  The  Broadening 
Horizon  of  Youth. 

§1.  GROWTH  IN  NUMBERS 

IN  HUMAN  BEINGS  the  period  of  adolescence  which  fol¬ 
lows  early  youth  is  marked,  as  we  stated  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  chapter,  by  rapid  physical  growth,  by  a  spirit  of 
teamwork  and  idealism,  noble  purposing,  ambitious  pro¬ 
gram — but  also  at  times  by  turmoil,  storm  and  stress, 
while,  as  a  rule,  the  mental  horizon  is  broadened  more  or 
less.  Much  of  this  applies  to  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  during  its  second  period,  from  1880  to 
the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

To  begin  with  growth — the  numerical  increase  cer¬ 
tainly  was  remarkable. 

The  following  table  shows  this  plainly  at  a  glance: 


Classes  Churches  Ministers  Families  Communicants  Souls 


1857  . 1  4  1  150  250  750 

1880  . 4  39  19  2,014  3,566  12,001 

1900  . 9  144  98  10,614  17,584  53,794 


That  shows,  that  during  the  twenty  years  covered  by  this 
second  period,  the  classical  organizations  more  than 
doubled,  the  churches  trebled,  the  ministerial  force  was 
increased  five-fold,  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  families 
and  communicants,  while  the  number  of  souls  in  1900  was 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


73 


considerably  more  than  four  times  what  it  was  in  1880. 
The  five  Classes  added  to  the  roll  were  those  of  Holland, 
dating  from  1882;  Muskegon,  organized  in  1888;  and  East 
Friesland,  which  in  1896  was  formed  as  an  offshoot  of  the 
Iowa  Classis.  The  old  Michigan  Classis  had  changed  its 
name  in  1882,  when  Holland  was  formed,  to  Classis  Grand 
Rapids,  which  latter  body,  in  1898,  was  split  into  two 
bodies,  Grand  Rapids  East  and  Grand  Rapids  West.  The 
fifth  classical  organization,  added  in  1890,  was  really  the 
oldest  one  of  them  all — the  Hackensack  Classis,  dating 
from  1822.  (See  §5  below.) 

That  this  remarkable  numerical  increase  can  be  re¬ 
corded  is  due  to  various  factors.  One  of  them,  and  to 
some  extent  the  most  obvious,  is  the  heavy  immigration 
which  marked  particularly  the  first  decade  of  the  two 
covered  by  this  Chapter.  From  1841  to  1850  only  8,251 
Netherlanders  reached  our  shores.  From  1870  to  1880  their 
number  was  doubled,  totaling  16,541.  But  from  1880  to 
1890,  due  largely  to  unfavorable  industrial  and  social  con¬ 
ditions  in  Holland,  as  many  as  53,701  people  arrived  from 
the  Low  Countries,  or  more  than  three  times  the  number 
of  immigrants  of  the  preceding  decade.  True,  from  1891 
to  1900  only  31,816  Netherlanders  came  to  the  United 
States,  but  even  that  was  about  twice  as  many  as  arrived 
from  1870  to  1880. 

But  the  strong  immigration  from  Holland  was  not  the 
only  thing  explaining  the  rapid  growth.  Much  of  the  in¬ 
crease  could  not  have  been  recorded  if  it  had  not  been 
for  something  else.  It  was: 

§2.  THE  MINISTRY  AS  A  FACTOR  EXPLAINING 

THE  GROWTH 

In  1880  there  were,  as  we  stated,  only  19  pastors.  That 
meant  that  less  than  one-half  of  the  congregations  enjoyed 
regular  ministerial  labors.  The  entire  Iowa  Classis  pos- 


74 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


sessed  only  four  preachers,  the  Revs.  J.  Schepers,  S.  Baron, 
W.  Coelingh  and  J.  Stadt.  The  Hudson  Classis  reported 
but  two  ministers  in  all,  the  Revs.  L.  Rietdyk  and  W. 
Greve.  While  the  Illinois  Classis  was  better  supplied, 
having  but  two  vacancies  in  1880,  in  the  Michigan  Classis 
as  many  as  twelve  congregations  were  vacant — among 
them  the  two  Grand  Rapids  congregations  of  the  time 
(Spring  Street  and  East  Street). 

But  by  1900  what  a  difference — the  ministry  was 
numbering  ninety-eight.  That  meant  that  instead  of  one 
pastor  for  every  two  churches,  there  was'  one  for  every 
one  and  one-half.  That  meant  much  more  service,  even 
in  vacant  charges,  of  the  regular  ministry.  Moreover,  these 
men  were,  as  a  rule,  far  better  equipped  for  the  work, 
due  largely  to  better  training  in  the  Theological  School 
(Chapter  VI).  Moreover,  most  of  them  having  been  reared 
in  the  same  atmosphere,  understanding  one  another  bet¬ 
ter,  these  preachers  were  able  to  do  team  work  much  more 
effectively,  while  change  of  denominational  affiliations 
was  a  rare  thing,  instead  of  being  a  frequent  occurrence 
as  formerly. 

Besides  this,  some  of  those  who  had  come  from  abroad 
to  heed  the  Macedonian  call  from  America  were  strong 
men,  whose  standing  in  the  Old  World  meant  a  great  deal 
for  the  Church  in  the  New,  as  we  shall  see  presently.  They 
also  proved  to  be  good  leaders  at  home.  As  such  we  may 
well  single  out  the  Rev.  R.  T.  Kuiper,  who  presided  at  the 
Synod  of  1880.  Born  in  1826,  he  had  held  two  pastorates 
in  Holland  before  coming  here  in  1879  to  become  Graaf- 
schap’s  minister.  While  in  the  Netherlands  he  published 
a  book  on  the  Levitical  Marriage  Laws.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  here  his  Tijdwoord,  and  Stem  (1882),  showed  him 
to  be  a  keen  observer,  while  various  articles  in  De  Wach- 
ter  revealed  him  as  a  man  of  vision  and  progress.  The 
president  of  the  1883  Synod  was  another  leading  figure  of 
the  period  here  described,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Vos.  He  was  a 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


75 


native  of  the  Bentheim  district  of  Germany.  Born  in  1826, 
a  Kampen  graduate  in  1858,  he  had  served  important  par¬ 
ishes  in  Holland  before  coming  here  in  1881  to  take  charge 
of  the  Spring  Street  church  (First)  of  Grand  Rapids,  then 
the  strongest  of  the  denomination.  Soon  he  became  prom¬ 
inent  in  the  affairs  of  the  Theological  School,  in  the  mis¬ 
sion  cause,  and  as  secretary  of  the  Synodical  Committee, 
and  occupied  a  place  of  importance  during  many  years. 
The  Rev.  L.  J.  Hulst,  president  of  the  1884  and  1890 
Synods,  although  a  year  older  than  the  Revs.  Yos  and  Kui- 
per,  surpassed  them  and  all  the  ministers  of  the  denom¬ 
ination  as  to  length  of  life  (from  1825 — 1922),  and  years  of 
service  in  the  active  ministry — from  1849  to  1910.  He 
edited  De  Wachter  from  1884  to  1888,  wrote  numberless 
articles  in  it  since  then,  published  catechism  books,  and 
Supra  en  Infra ,  Olid  en  Nieuw  Calvinisme,  and  other 
pamphlets.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  Anti-Masonic  Move¬ 
ment  (§3).  The  Rev.  E.  Bos,  who  presided  at  the  synod¬ 
ical  meeting  of  1888,  was  another  forceful  and  influential 
personality  during  part  of  the  period  covered  in  this 
Chapter,  though  alas,  only  for  a  brief  season. 

Less  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  but  equally  devoted  to 
the  work  and  loyal  to  the  core,  were  two  of  Rev.  Vos’  fel- 
low-Bentheimers,  the  Revs.  G.  and  E.  Broene,  brothers, 
who  both  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  As  to  two  other  brothers, 
the  Revs.  C.  and  H.  Bode,  of  East  Friesian  stock,  while 
none  of  them  ever  presided  at  Synods,  their  influence  in 
the  West  was  strong  and  their  work  for  church  extension 
across  the  Mississippi  very  valuable. 

Among  those  trained  abroad,  who,  like  the  four  just 
named,  also  missed  presidential  honors,  was  one  whose 
services  amply  entitle  him  to  reference  in  these  pages,  the 
Rev.  Henry  Vander  Werp,  who  arrived  here  in  1882.  He 
was  one  of  the  best-educated,  and  what  is  more,  one  of  the 
most  gifted  men  our  denomination  ever  had.  He  would 
have  graced  a  chair  in  our  Theological  School  and  would 


76 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


have  been  able  to  preside  at  any  Synod.  Yet  these  honors 
were  withheld  from  him.  His  remarkable  versatility  is 
shown  by  numberless  articles  in  Christian  Reformed 
church  papers  and  in  several  booklets,  both  in  poetry  and 
in  prose,  in  Dutch  and  in  English.  He  was  a  musician  of 
ability  as  shown  in  his  publication  of  a  Psalter  Version 
(compare  Chapter  IX,  §3),  in  English.  To  mention  no 
more,  the  Rev.  Vander  Werp  was  the  first  one  to  give  the 
English  reading  world  an  idea  of  our  Church,  its  descent 
and  history,  in  An  Outline  of  the  History  of  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  of  America ,  pp.  49;  (published  in  1898). 

Among  the  strong  men  of  the  period  we  should  also 
name  the  Rev.  H.  Van  Hoogen,  who,  like  the  Revs.  Roer 
and  Hemkes  (Chapter  VI),  belonged  to  the  second  genera¬ 
tion  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  Holland.  Grad¬ 
uating  from  the  Kampen  Theological  School  in  1865,  he 
ministered  to  five  churches  in  the  Netherlands  before  com¬ 
ing  here  in  1894  to  serve  three  congregations  in  three  dif¬ 
ferent  States:  Second  Roseland,  (Illinois);  Central  Ave¬ 
nue,  in  Holland,  Mich.;  and  Prospect  Park,  Paterson,  New 
Jersey,  where  he  died  in  the  harness,  1906.  He  had  the 
pen  of  a  ready  writer  as  well  as  the  tongue  of  a  gifted 
speaker  and  the  intelligence  of  a  wise  counsellor. 

Of  longer  sojourn  in  his  adopted  land,  and  of  wider 
and  more  enduring  influence  speaks  the  record  of  the 
Rev.  K.  Kuiper,  who  succeeded  the  Rev.  Van  Hoogen  as 
pastor  of  Second  Roseland.  His  first  American  pastorate 
had  been  First  Grand  Haven,  his  last  was  Niekerk.  Almost 
from  the  first  year  of  his  coming  to  America  (1891),  the 
Rev.  Kuiper  raised  his  voice  in  behalf  of  Christian  Prim¬ 
ary  as  well  as  of  Higher  education,  and  the  entire  move¬ 
ment  owes  a  great  debt  to  his  wise,  persistent  and  success¬ 
ful  pleading  for  the  cause  he  loved.  He  served  many 
years  as  writer  of  the  Sunday  School  lessons  in  De  Wach - 
ter  and  Sabbatschool  Bode ,  and  wrote  a  Catechism . 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


77 


Speaking  of  gifted  men  of  the  period  we  should  also  name 
three  who  finished  their  ministry  in  the  East — the  Rev.  P. 
Van  Vlaanderen,  earnest  champion  of  the  Christian 
School  Movement  in  his  region;  the  Rev.  K.  Van  Goor,  tal¬ 
ented  pulpit  orator,  and  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Remein,  a  quiet 
man  with  a  good  pen. 

Moreover,  mentioning  valued  forces,  we  should  not  fail 
to  name  the  Rev.  E.  R.  Haan,  from  1873 — 1883  missionary- 
pastor  on  the  island  of  Java,  who  in  1892,  with  his  congre¬ 
gation  of  Midland  Park,  N.  J.,  joined  our  denomination, 
like  Second  Paterson,  with  the  Rev.  H.  H.  D.  Langereis, 
had  done  in  1888.  Roth  of  these  last  named  men  held  pas¬ 
torates  in  the  West  as  well  as  in  the  East,  as  had  been 
the  case,  for  that  matter,  with  the  Revs.  K.  Van  Goor,  and 
W.  Greve  and  others,  whose  memory  ought  to  be  kept 
green  among  us.  Other  men  of  note  will  be  named  in 
other  connections. 

What  we  gave  suffices  to  show  that  the  ministry  of  the 
period  naturally  was  quite  a  factor  in  explaining  the  great 
accessions  of  membership  and  churches  from  1880  to  1890, 
seconded  as  these  ministerial  leaders  were  by  such  strong 
men  as  the  elders  T.  Keppel,  H.  Rosch,  W.  Rrink,  J.  De 
Boer,  E.  Hekman,  S.  S.  Postma,  N.  Silvius,  A.  Van  Bree, 
F.  Kniphuizen,  J.  W.  Garvelink,  G.  W.  Mokma,  J.  J.  Hee- 
ringa,  and  others. 

§3.  THE  ANTI-MASONIC  MOVEMENT  EXPLAINING 

THE  INCREASE 

Of  considerable  significance  during  the  period  was 
something  which  occurred  during  its  early  part,  namely, 
the  accession  of  a  number  of  congregations  which  had 
withdrawn  from  the  Reformed  denomination  as  the  result 
of  what  we  already  named,  Masonic,  or  rather,  Anti-Ma¬ 
sonic  agitation.  That  some  of  the  men  of  the  Reformed 
Church  were  Free  Masons  was  already  evident  to  our  pio¬ 
neers  of  1857.  In  1868  the  Reformed  Classes  of  Holland 

% 


78 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


and  Wisconsin  presented  extended  testimony  against  Free 
Masonry,  and  asked  their  General  Synod  to  disapprove  of 
it.  But  it  refused  to  express  an  opinion.  Two  years  later, 
however,  General  Synod  issued  the  significant  statement : 
“the  path  of  prudence  and  safety  lies  outside  of  all  oath- 
bound  secret  societies  wherewith  obligations  may  be  ex¬ 
acted  in  conflict  with  the  liberty  of  the  individual  con¬ 
science;  the  Christian  religion  furnishes  all  needful  moral 
culture,  and  its  pledges  of  mutual  love  represent  a  higher 
capacity  for  practical  benevolence  than  the  moral  lessons 
of  any  mere  human  organization”.  But  these  declarations 
were  prefaced  by  the  words:  “Synod  cannot  interfere 
with  consistorial  prerogatives  of  discipline”.  That  meant 
practically  the  independent  idea  of  absolute  congrega¬ 
tional  autonomy,  incompatible  with  the  Presbyterian  sys¬ 
tem  of  Church  Government  (Chapter  X,  §2).  This  stand¬ 
point  was  maintained,  although  Western  Classes  con¬ 
tended  that  Free  Masonry  was  anti-republican,  anti-chris- 
tian  and  anti-Beformed. 

It  was  felt  that  the  attitude  of  the  General  Synod  prac¬ 
tically  opened  the  door  to  Free  Masons  and  led  to  the 
strange  and  unreformed  practice  that  in  one  church  some 
members  could  be  in  good  standing  who  were  rejected  by 
sister  congregations,  leading  to  very  awkward  situations, 
subversive  of  church  discipline. 

The  outcome  of  much  agitation  among  the  Western 
Hollanders  was  that  during  the  years  1881  and  1882  eight 
Beformed  congregations,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev. 
L.  J.  Hulst  and  others,  severed  their  relationship  with 
their  denomination.  They  were  the  First  Church  of  Hol¬ 
land  (Van  Raalte’s  Colonial  Church),  Coldbrook  (Grand 
Rapids),  East  Saugatuck,  Second  Grand  Haven,  Graaf- 
schap,  North  Street  (Zeeland),  Montague,  and  Drenthe. 
Soon  after  they  joined  the  Christian  Reformed  Church, 
with  the  exception  of  Graafschap  which,  with  its  pastor, 
the  Rev.  A.  Zwemer,  returned  to  the  Reformed  fold. 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


79 


This  accession  not  alone  swelled  the  number  of  congre¬ 
gations  and  ministers,  but  in  various  localities  individual 
members  left  the  Reformed  Church  to  join  the  churches 
of  1857.  In  a  few  places  this  led  to  the  organization  of 
new  congregations:  Zutphen,  Beaverdam,  Fremont,  Spring 
Lake,  Harderwijk,  and  Overisel  (all  in  Michigan),  and 
Alto,  in  Wisconsin. 

However,  the  growth  of  the  denomination  was  mater¬ 
ially  increased  during  this  period  not  alone  through  the 
accessions  just  named,  but  also,  as  already  alluded  to, 
through  a  more  favorable  attitude  toward  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  assumed  by  the  Church  in  the  Nether¬ 
lands.  When  the  Rev.  P.  D.  Van  Cleef,  a  Reformed  pas¬ 
tor,  in  1882  stated  in  a  letter  to  the  Synod  of  Zwolle: 
“Many  of  our  best  and  most  orthodox  ministers  and 
church-members  are  Free  Masons”,  and  “Our  Synod  could 
not  take  action  which  would  virtually  excommunicate 
these  brethren.  . .  .what  God  hath  cleansed  that  call  thou 
not  common  or  unclean” — the  delegates  shuddered.  The 
result  was  the  advice  to  the  Netherland  churches  no  longer 
to  address  membership  papers  to  Reformed  congregations 
until  “turned  from  the  abomination  of  Free  Masonry”. 
Consequently,  the  great  stream  of  the  immigration  of  Re¬ 
formed  Hollanders  was  turned  into  Christian  Reformed 
channels,  something  which  continued  to  be  the  case  for 
decades. 


§4.  THE  GROWING  GERMAN  ELEMENT 

Among  the  classical  organizations  formed  during  this 
period  we  mentioned  in  §1  the  Classis  of  East  Friesland. 
This  body  embraced  and  was  designed  to  embrace  all  of 
the  German-speaking  congregations.  Their  increase  also 
explains  the  growth  here  discussed. 

As  stated  in  Chapter  I,  the  Secession  movement  of  Hol¬ 
land  had  spread  to  the  adjacent  districts  of  Germany: 


80 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Bentheim  and  East  Friesland.  Van  Raalte,  who  had  or¬ 
ganized  one  or  two  “Seceder”  churches  in  Bentheim,  was 
on  his  trip  to  America,  accompanied  by  some  Bentheimers, 
who  settled  at  Graafschap,  Mich.  Others  came  over  in  the 
course  of  succeeding  years,  and  many  joined  the  Christian 
Reformed  denomination.  The  Fremont,  Mich,  church  had 
from  the  start  many  members  of  Bentheim  origin,  and  so 
did  Overisel  and  East  Saugatuck  (formerly  known  as  Col- 
lendoorn),  in  Michigan.  East  Friesland  “Seceders”  settled 
at  first  in  Illinois  and  many  joined  the  Presbyterian  and 
Reformed  denominations.  But  the  Ammermann  family  in 
Stephenson  County,  Illinois,  the  East  Friesian  “Mother 
Colony”,  hearing  of  the  existence  of  a  Seceder  (Afgeschei- 
den)  Church  in  Michigan,  sought  and  found  a  church 
home  in  the  denomination  here  described,  by  effecting,  in 
1866,  the  organization  of  a  congregation  at  Ridott  (Ger¬ 
man  Valley),  Illinois.  The  Rev.  E.  L.  Meinders’  accession 
brought  Iowa  East  Friesians  to  the  fold,  and,  especially 
due  to  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  H.  and  C.  Bode,  and  later  by 
the  sons  of  the  latter,  the  Revs.  H.  C.  and  W.  Bode,  as  well 
as  by  the  Revs.  J.  Gulker,  J.  Plesscher,  J.  H.  Schultz  and 
others,  the  German  element  increased  considerably,  the 
East  Friesland  Classis  in  1900  numbering  as  many  as  sev¬ 
enteen  churches.  Not  all  of  them,  however,  used  the  Ger¬ 
man  tongue  in  their  divine  services.  In  fact  none  of  the 
older  congregations  did  so  exclusively  because  their 
founders  were  fully  as  well  conversant  with  the  Holland 
language  as  with  High  German,  owing  to  close  connections 
between  the  Netherlands  and  their  old  Home,  in  former 
centuries.  But  particularly  during  the  last  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century  German  was  demanded  increasingly, 
in  part  due  to  the  fact  that  the  later  immigration  had  been 
taught  the  German  tongue  in  the  schools  of  their  native 
places.  That  this  transition  of  language  entailed  demands 
for  training  of  future  ministers  in  the  language  of  the  Fa- 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


81 


therland  and  led  to  education  effort,  we  shall  see  in  Chap¬ 
ter  YI,  §5. 

To  serve  as  a  means  for  the  unification  and  propaga¬ 
tion  of  this  German  element,  a  periodical  called  Refor- 
inierte  Monatsclirift  began  its  career  in  1891,  to  be  suc¬ 
ceeded  after  an  interval  by  the  Reformierte  Bote  (Re¬ 
formed  Messenger),  a  monthly  dating  from  1899,  edited 
by  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Hoefker,  at  first  assisted  by  the  Revs.  J. 
Timmermann  and  J.  H.  Schultz. 

§5.  GROWTH  THROUGH  UNION  WITH  THE  CLASSIS 

OF  HACKENSACK 

In  Chapter  II,  §6,  we  mentioned  the  True  Reformed 
Dutch  Church.  This  body  dated  from  1822,  when  a  group 
of  churches  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  led  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Solomon  Froeligh,  seceded  from  the  parent  body. 
With  people  of  the  Classis  of  Hackensack,  at  the  time  the 
remnant  of  the  “True”  Church,  some  of  our  pioneers  came 
into  contact  before  1857.  That  they  became  a  source  of 
information  on  actual  conditions  in  the  East  we  have  al¬ 
ready  related.  In  1859  the  Rev.  J.  Rerdan  of  Passaic,  who 
several  times  preached  for  some  of  our  people  in  the  East, 
proposed  to  the  authorities  of  his  denomination  to  seek 
closer  contact  with  the  Western  churches,  and  ten  years 
later  we  find  the  Rev.  J.  Y.  De  Baun  and  an  elder  heartily 
welcomed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Michigan  Classis.  In  1877, 
a  federal  union  was  formed,  involving  exchange  of  mem¬ 
bership  certificates,  communion  privileges,  and  voting  at 
the  meetings  of  major  church  courts.  Closer  contact  in 
the  East  showed  that  the  two  federated  bodies  were  so 
similar  in  belief  and  practice  that  the  question  arose  in¬ 
voluntarily:  why  not  unite  fully?  The  Americanization 
movement  in  Michigan,  sketched  in  the  next  section  of  this 
Chapter,  was  materially  helped  by  the  Hackensack  breth¬ 
ren,  and  when  the  Rev.  J.  Y.  De  Baun,  in  1887,  took  charge 


82 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


of  the  LaGrave  Avenue  church,  he  made  a  most  favorable 
impression  as  to  orthodoxy  and  earnestness.  No  doubt 
this  paved  the  way  for  a  still  closer  union  consummated 
at  the  Synod  of  1890. 

Serious  objection  was  made  to  the  fact  that  the  Hack¬ 
ensack  churches  used  fifty-two  Hymns,  appropriate  to  the 
fifty-two  Lord’s  Days  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  as  ap¬ 
pendix  of  their  Psalter.  But  when  the  stipulation  was 
made  that  Holland-  and  German-speaking  churches  were 
prohibited  from  using  hymns,  the  obstacle  was  overcome, 
though  not  without  protest  from  the  side  of  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Vos  and  his  consistory,  who  spoke  of  the  inconsistency  of 
having  some  of  the  churches  use  hymns  while  others  were 
forbidden  to  do  so.  The  Hackensack  Classis,  from  its 
side,  had  made  certain  reservations  when  by  a  majority 
vote  it  decided  to  seek  a  closer  union,  and  in  them  were 
involved  causes  of  discontent  and  alienation  which 
showed  themselves  already  during  the  period  here  dis¬ 
cussed,  but  which  came  to  a  head  during  the  next.  (Chap¬ 
ter  V,  §7.) 

Numerically  the  Classis  of  Hackensack  was  weak,  only 
numbering  507  families  in  the  thirteen  congregations  on 
its  roll  in  1890.  Still,  its  accession  involved  denomina¬ 
tional  growth,  not  simply  because  of  the  2,000  souls  added, 
and  some  of  the  ministers  proving  to  be  valuable  assets, 
but  particularly  because  in  Passaic  and  Paterson  they 
served  to  “stop  the  leaks”  that  had  been  going  on  for  years 
on  account  of  the  language  question.  A  number  of  our 
people,  anxious  to  exchange  the  Dutch  for  the  English  as 
their  language  of  devotion,  found  church  homes  in  the 
congregations  named,  and  thus  were  saved  for  the 
denomination. 

The  last  named  fact  applies  with  far  more  force  to  the 
effects  of  another  noteworthy  event  marking  the  period 
of  adolescence.  It  was  the  originating  of  the  Americani¬ 
zation  movement  already  mentioned. 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


83 


§6.  THE  AMERICANIZATION  MOVEMENT 

A  couple  of  times  we  noted  the  intention  of  the  church 
leaders  to  cling  to  the  name  and  language  of  Holland. 
They  forgot  that  the  God  of  nations  has  His  hand  in  the 
amalgamation  of  various  peoples  to  form  new  nations. 
So  it  had  happened  in  the  Netherlands  with  its  originally 
so  widely  different  elements:  Friesians,  Saxons,  Franks, 
and  Celts.  So  it  was  in  England.  So  it  happens  in  the 
United  States.  Consequently  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  pioneers  of  1857,  as  well  as  many  of  the  younger 
people  of  the  Masonic  Movement  churches  of  1881,  cared 
for  the  English  language  of  our  nation  far  more  than  for 
the  Holland  tongue  of  their  ancestors.  In  Grand  Rapids, 
where  our  people  daily  mixed  with  others,  far  more  than  in 
smaller  places  or  in  country  surroundings,  a  demand  for 
religious  worship  in  English  made  itself  heard  at  the 
opening  of  the  decade  here  discussed.  A  separate  English- 
speaking  organization  was  asked  for,  since  the  fact  was 
realized  that  a  slow  process  of  Americanizing  the  entire 
congregation  was  out  of  question  because  newcomers, 
continually  arriving,  were  unable  to  use  the  language  of 
the  land  in  their  worship,  while  the  young  American-born 
element  did  not  understand  the  Dutch.  The  swarming 
method  of  the  bees  appeared  to  be  the  best  mode  of  pro¬ 
cedure,  for  the  time  and  the  place.  Men  like  the  Revs.  P. 
Schut  and  R.  T.  Kuiper  and  Profs.  Roer  and  Hemkes,  pro¬ 
moted  the  movement  as  necessary  to  retain  the  coming 
generations.  Others,  especially  the  Revs.  Vos  and  Hulst, 
opposed  it  as  “dangerous”,  and  ascribed  worldly  motives 
to  it.  Even  its  best  champions  failed  to  point  out  the  fact 
that  Americanization  was  much  more  than  a  measure  of 
self-preservation,  but  rather  a  patriotic  duty  toward  the 
unification  of  the  nation,  and  opening  avenues  for  the 
propagation  of  our  principles  as  a  leaven  and  a  salt — a 
God-given  duty  for  us  with  our  Calvinistic  heritage.  Rut 


84 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


notwithstanding  this  failure  to  realize  the  full  significance 
of  the  movement,  and  in  the  face  of  all  opposition  and 
dilatory  tactics,  the  first  English-speaking  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  was  organized,  November,  1887 — the 
LaGrave  Avenue  church  of  Grand  Rapids.  Only  eighteen 
communicant  members  joined  at  the  start.  In  1893  the 
second  English-speaking  church  in  the  West  was  organ¬ 
ized,  the  Broadway  congregation  of  Grand  Rapids.  For 
several  years  they  were  the  only  churches  of  their  kind  in 
the  denomination,  outside  of  those  of  the  Hackensack 
Classis.  Roth  had  their  “period  of  struggle”.  But  the 
movement  they  headed  could  not  be  stopped,  and  its  de¬ 
velopment  would  surprise  many,  as  the  next  Chapter 
shows. 

§7.  GROWTH  IN  ACTIVITIES  FOR  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD— 

THE  PRESS  AND  SOCIETY-LIFE 

Passing  by  growth  as  seen  in  the  work  of  the  Training 
of  ministers,  and  the  advance  in  missionary  activity,  be¬ 
cause  discussed  in  separate  Chapters  (VI  and  VII),  it  be¬ 
hooves  us  to  chronicle  here  that  the  period  under  discus¬ 
sion  reminds  of  that  of  the  adolescence  of  human  beings 
because  of  great  activity — as  young  people  delight  in  tak¬ 
ing  up  all  kinds  of  things,  and  show  a  remarkable  spirit  of 
capability  for  teamwork.  Not  alone  was  De  Wachter  at 
the  beginning  of  this  period  changed  from  being  a  semi¬ 
monthly  to  a  weekly,  but  in  1894  considerably  enlarged  at 
the  beginning  of  the  editorial  career  of  Rev.  A.  Keizer, 
until  1918  its  editor-in-chief.  In  1880  the  first  issue  ap¬ 
peared  of  the  Jaarboekje  or  Yearbook  for  the  denomina¬ 
tion,  edited  and  owned  by  the  Revs.  J.  Noordewier  and 
G.  K.  Hemkes.  A  year  later,  the  Church  published  its  first 
collection  of  General  Rules  (Algemeene  Bepalingen),  ap¬ 
pended  to  the  Church  Order  of  Dordrecht.  Several  pas¬ 
tors  published  catechism  books,  notably  the  Revs.  H.  Van- 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


85 


der  Werp,  L.  J.  Hulst,  K.  Kuiper,  and  J.  M.  Remein,  even 
as  the  Rev.  J.  I.  Fles  already  in  1878  had  laid  one  on  the 
press.  The  Rev.  R.  T.  Kuiper,  as  stated  in  §2,  published 
two  books  on  conditions  in  America,  both  ecclesiastical 
and  social.  In  1897  a  monthly,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  Rev.  F.  M.  Ten  Hoor,  started  its  career,  De  Gerefor- 
meerde  Amerikaan,  published  by  H.  Holkeboer,  Holland, 
Mich.,  Two  months  before  its  first  number  appeared,  an¬ 
other  monthly  had  been  launched  at  Orange  City,  Iowa, 
De  Heidenwereld,  a  missionary  magazine  under  the  aus¬ 
pices  of  men  belonging  to  both  the  Reformed  and  the 
Christian  Reformed  Churches,  the  first  concrete  proof  of 
the  possibility  of  cooperation  of  brethren  separated  ec¬ 
clesiastically  for  well-nigh  forty  long  years. 

The  press,  however,  was  not  furnishing  the  only  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  stirring  of  new  life,  the  formation  of  new 
ideals,  the  preparing  of  ambitious  programs,  from  the  side 
of  a  few  leaders.  Everywhere  religious  activity  mani¬ 
fested  itself. 

That  was  also  evident  regarding  the  Sunday  school. 
During  the  period  of  struggle  it  had  been  looked  at 
askance  as  an  innovation,  a  dangerous  competitor  of  cate¬ 
chism  classes,  a  Trojan  horse,  carrying  traitors  inside,  etc. 
The  churches  of  the  West,  which  continued  their  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  Reformed  Church,  soon  made  earnest  work 
of  developing  the  institution,  Van  Raalte’s  church  organ¬ 
izing  a  Sabbath  school  as  early  as  1851.  (The  Banner , 
February  8,  1917.)  Rut  in  1873  a  change  set  in  also  in  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church,  when  the  General  Meeting 
strongly  urged  that  every  congregation  should  maintain  a 
Sabbath  school.  No  doubt  the  Rev.  D.  J.  Vander  Werp 
was  back  of  this  resolution.  Four  years  later  Prof.  G.  E. 
Boer  broke  a  lance  for  it  in  De  Wachter  which  he  edited 
at  the  time.  And  particularly  after  the  union  with  the 
congregations  which  had  left  the  Reformed  body  as  the 
result  of  the  Anti-Masonic  agitation,  a  new  era  began. 


86 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Men  like  N.  Silvius  and  H.  Bosch,  ably  pleaded  for  the 
newcomer.  And  so  did  Mr.  J.  Veltkamp,  a  veteran  of  the 
Christian  School  movement  (Chapter  IX,  §5) ;  while  the 
Rev.  R.  T.  Kuiper  in  the  Tijdwoord,  strongly  advocated  the 
Sabbath  school  as  indispensible  on  account  of  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  Church,  School,  and  Society.  In  1888  the  denom¬ 
inational  organ  began  publishing  comments  on  the  Inter¬ 
national  lesson,  which  led  to  the  publication  of  the  Sab- 
bathschool  Bode  (Messenger),  by  James  Tanis,  of  Pater¬ 
son,  continued  till  1920,  as  a  useful  weekly  for  the  organi¬ 
zation  mentioned  in  its  title.  In  1898  the  Hackensack  Clas- 
sis  undertook  the  publication  of  Christian  Reformed  S.  S. 
Lesson  Helps,  continued  till  1917,  and  rendering  as  good  a 
service  to  the  English  Sunday  schools  as  the  Bode  did  to 
the  Dutch.  In  1900  there  were  nearly  one  hundred  Sab¬ 
bath  schools  in  as  many  churches,  so  that  over  two-thirds 
had  introduced  the  newcomer — the  whole  number  of  con¬ 
gregations  then  being  144. 

And  not  alone  Sunday  schools  sprang  into  being  dur¬ 
ing  the  period  of  growth — also  a  number  of  Young 
People’s  Societies  and  Young  Men’s  and  Young  Ladies’ 
Societies.  The  annual  feasts  of  these  organizations  were 
events  of  considerable  importance  to  the  young  folk,  in¬ 
cluding  recitations,  songs,  a  main  address,  usually  by  the 
pastor  or  some  other  speaker  of  prominence, — and  wel¬ 
come  refreshments  and  some  other  songs  and  recitations 
as  the  postlude. 

In  1900  we  find  seven  missionary  societies  recorded, 
and  nearly  forty  singing  clubs.  Grand  Rapids  at  the  time 
boasted  of  an  “Alliance  of  Reformed  Societies’’,  (see 
Chapter  V,  §3).  In  1896  we  already  find  evidence  of  a 
similar  “Bond”  of  missionary  organizations,  in  northwes¬ 
tern  Iowa.  This  was  composed  of  Christian  Reformed  so¬ 
cieties.  But  in  a  Holland  Reformed  “Jongelingsbond”  in 
the  same  district,  which  in  1899  celebrated  its  third  annual 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


87 


meeting,  we  find  both  Reformed  and  Christian  Reformed 
Young  Men’s  Associations  cooperating. 

It  was  indeed  a  time  of  young  manhood’s  hustle  and 
bustle,  dreaming  and  daring.  Particularly  in  Iowa 
churches  sprang  up  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  so  that  the 
Iowa  Classis,  which  in  1880  had  enrolled  seven  weak  and 
struggling  churches,  with  only  about  a  thousand  souls  all 
told,  served  by  four  pastors,  had  by  1900  become  “two 
hosts”,  the  parent  body  and  “East  Friesland”  together  to¬ 
taling  forty-seven  churches,  with  more  than  nine  thousand 
souls,  and  thirty  preachers  of  the  Word.  The  denomina¬ 
tional  banner  was  unfurled  in  the  far  Northwest,  at  Oak 
Harbor,  Wash.  (1893) ;  in  the  distant  Southwest,  at  Neder¬ 
land,  Texas,  1898.  At  Winnepeg,  Canada,  far  up  North, 
work  was  begun  in  1898,  and  already  five  years  before  that 
a  church  was  organized  at  Maxwell  City,  in  New  Mexico, 
to  the  South.  In  the  East  an  opening  was  attempted  in  the 
State  of  Maryland.  Colorado,  too,  was  penetrated  in  1892 
when  two  churches  were  organized,  Rilland  and  Rethel, 
the  fruit  of  an  ill-fated  colonizing  attempt,  under  Nether- 
land  auspices,  which  failed  the  next  year.  Rut  what  if 
all  these  attempts  were  not  successful  and  lasting, as  we  shall 
see  in  Chapter  VII,  §1?  They  at  least  stood  for  ambitious 
planning  and  energetic  daring. 

So  was  the  discussion  going  on  in  those  days  about 
starting  foreign  mission  work  in  nearby  Cuba  or  distant 
Persia,  and  about  helping  Reformed  people  across  the  tropic 
of  Capricorn,  in  Argentina.  Nor  was  there  only  planning 
and  dreaming.  Work  was  actually  begun  among  the  In¬ 
dians  of  the  Southwest,  Chapter  VII,  §2.  And  when  the 
Old  Reformed  brethren  of  Rentheim  and  East  Friesland 
asked  for  aid  to  maintain  their  recently  opened  Theolog¬ 
ical  School,  help  was  readily  granted  to  the  institution 
which,  up  to  1921,  when  it  was  closed,  was  a  blessing  to 
both  the  denominations  involved. 


88 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Ambitious  planning  and  daring?  The  fact  that  at  the 
Synod  of  1898  it  was  resolved  to  organize  a  Society  to  sup¬ 
port  a  regular  College ,  and  that  steps  were  actually  taken 
to  bring  this  about — who  shall  deny  that  this  spelled  en¬ 
terprise  of  a  splendid  sort,  even  though  failure  marked 
the  attempt,  as  Chaper  VI  shows?  Surely,  we  have  reasons 
abundant  to  characterize  1880 — 1900  as  the  period  of 
adolescent  aspirations  and  undertakings,  even  though  less 
favorable  manifestations  of  such  a  period  were  not  lack¬ 
ing,  as  we  shall  see  next. 

§8.  ADOLESCENCE’S  “STORM  AND  STRESS”.  DOCTRINAL 

CONTROVERSIES 

We  noted  in  our  simile  that  young  manhood  has  its 
times  of  turmoil  and  confusion,  seasons  of  “storm  and 
stress”,  as  well  as  a  display  of  growth  and  activity.  Such 
applies  in  a  measure  to  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  in 
the  period  covered.  Or,  to  use  a  different  figure  of  speech, 
just  as  a  growing  tree  as  it  shoots  up  and  forms  its  crown 
has  some  of  its  lower  boughs  drop  off  while  its  trunk  is  in 
formation — so  it  was  the  case  with  the  rapidly-growing 
Christian  Reformed  Church.  Already  as  early  as  1870,  in 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  a  number  of  families  separated 
themselves  from  the  Spring  Street  church  to  form  a  new 
organization  on  North  Division  Avenue  under  the  Rev.  C. 
Kloppenburg.  Six  years  later  another  contingent,  mostly 
of  Zeeland  origin,  severed  connections  to  organize  the 
Turner  Avenue  (Grand  Rapids),  congregation.  The  people 
of  these  churches  were  ultra-conservative  as  to  customs, 
and  stressed  the  hidden  things  of  God,  His  decrees,  as  well 
as  man’s  impotence,  more  than  a  well-balanced  concep¬ 
tion  of  these  truths  permits.  A  man  somewhat  of  the 
type  just  described  was  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Meinders  named  in 
Chapter  III,  §2.  He  was  highly  respected  at  first.  When 
Rev.  G.  E.  Roer  was  elected  as  theological  professor,  Rev. 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


89 


Meinders  received  six  votes.  At  first  he  praised  the  work 
of  the  new  professor.  But  soon  afterward  he  began  to  in¬ 
cessantly  criticize  him  as  well  as  the  Revs.  Hulst,  Fles, 
Heyns,  H.  Vander  Werp,  and  several  others,  accusing 
them  of  doctrinal  unsoundness.  His  high  Calvinism  be¬ 
came  apparent  more  and  more,  as  well  as  his  ultra-con¬ 
servatism.  Finally  matters  came  to  a  head  at  the  Synod  of 
1886  when  a  declaration  was  made  stating  that  Rev.  Mein¬ 
ders  and  the  South  Holland,  Ill.  church  he  served,  had 
withdrawn  by  majority  vote  from  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church.  The  main  ground  for  their  action  was  doubt 
about  the  Christian  Reformed  Churches,  both  in  the  Neth¬ 
erlands  and  here,  actually  being  the  historical  continua¬ 
tions  of  the  Netherlands  Reformed  Church  of  1618-T9. 
Rev.  Meinders  lived  long  enough  to  regret  his  act.  His 
people,  except  a  few,  in  course  of  time  returned  to  the 
Church  of  their  fathers — due  largely  to  the  tact  of  the  Rev. 
R.  T.  Kuiper,  who  ended  his  ministry  among  the  South 
Holland  people.  Other  secessions  took  place  during  this 
period  in  Kalamazoo  and  Muskegon,  due  largely  to  per¬ 
sonal  factors. 

Dutch  people,  like  the  Scotch,  have  been  called  “born 
theologians”.  Many  at  least  are  fond  of  doctrinal  disputa¬ 
tions,  and  some  of  these  had  something  to  do  with  the 
“storm  and  stress”,  or  at  least  turmoil  and  agitation  which 
at  times  marked  the  epoch,  as  shown  by  articles  in  De 
Wachter  and  one  or  two  separate  publications.  Many  of 
the  pioneers  of  the  denomination  accepted  the  stern  type 
of  Calvinism  for  which  their  respected  leader,  the  Rev.  S. 
Van  Velzen,  had  stood  in  the  Netherlands,  with  emphasis 
on  God’s  sovereignty,  rather  than  on  His  Fatherhood;  on 
His  decrees  more  than  on  the  gospel  offer.  That  the  Cove¬ 
nant  of  Grace  embraced  the  elect  and  them  only,  was  com¬ 
monly  believed.  Only  to  the  chosen  ones  grace  was  sealed 
in  Baptism.  Human  spiritual  inability  was  at  times 
stressed  in  such  a  way  as  to  destroy,  in  effect,  human  ac- 


90 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


countability.  The  border  line  of  Fatalism  was  approached 
by  some,  if  not  actually  crossed.  But  during  the  first  dec¬ 
ade  of  the  period  here  described,  the  pendulum  swung  in 
an  opposite  direction — in  fact  it  started  to  do  so  already  a 
few  years  before  1880.  Under  the  leadership  of  Profes¬ 
sors  Boer  and1  Hemkes,  and  the  Bevs.  L.  J.  Hulst  and  B.  T. 
Kuiper,  infra-lapsarism  became  the  received  doctrine, 
rather  than  the  supra-lapsarism  of  Rev.  Meinders.  The 
Covenant  of  Grace  as  embracing  believers  and  their  chil¬ 
dren,  like  it  was  established  with  Abraham  and  his  seed, 
became  the  popular  conception  rather  than  the  one  named 
above,  held  by  the  Rev.  K.  Vanden  Bosch  and  others  of  his 
day.  That  Baptism  sealed  God’s  grace  objectively,  in 
promise,  rather  than  subjectively,  that  is,  in  actual  pos¬ 
session,  was  the  teaching  of  Prof.  Boer  and  others,  even  as 
these  views  were  held  by  most  ministers  of  the  second 
generation  of  leaders  in  the  Christian  Reformed  Church 
of  the  Netherlands,  to  which  Revs.  Boer,  Hemkes,  and  Kui¬ 
per,  and  to  some  extent  the  Rev.  Hulst  also,  belonged. 
Later  on,  as  we  shall  see,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  A. 
Kuyper,  there  was  an  other  swinging  of  the  pendulum. 
(Chapter  Y,  §6.)  Dr.  G.  Vos  was  the  first  professor  of  the 
Theological  School  who  favored  supra-lapsarism,  a  view 
of  predestination  to  some  extent  defended  by  Dr.  A.  Kuy¬ 
per.  Opposition  to  this,  led  by  Rev.  Hulst,  not  alone  had 
something  to  do  with  Dr  Vos’s  acceptance  of  a  call  to 
Princeton  Seminary  (1893),  but  led  to  considerable  discus¬ 
sion  in  the  columns  of  De  W achter  and  De  Gereformeerde 
Amerikaan.  The  settling  of  the  agitation  involved  in  this 
belongs  to  the  next  Chapter,  §6. 

Causing  less  public  disturbance,  but  nevertheless  at 
times  seriously  agitating  some  circles,  was  a  swinging  of 
the  pendulum  as  to  the  type  of  preaching.  During  the 
period  of  struggle  the  emotional,  experiential  type  of  re¬ 
ligion  was  loved  by  the  people,  and  fostered  by  the  pulpit. 
Mysticism  and  Labadism  were  not  entirely  lacking  among 


PERIOD  OF  GROWTH 


91 


the  pioneers  of  1857,  and  Covenant  relationship  was  often 
lost  sight  of  by  unduly  pushing  to  the  foreground  the 
secret  will  of  God’s  decree.  Such  was  the  case  also  among 
the  people  of  the  Dutch  Secession.  But  just  like  in  the 
Netherlands,  under  the  second  generation  already  alluded 
to,  there  was  a  swinging  from  the  emotional  toward  the 
more  intellectual,  from  the  emphasis  on  the  will  of  God’s 
decree  to  His  revealed  will,  so  in  America,  causing  occa¬ 
sional  complaint,  and  at  times,  in  some  instances,  strained 
relationships. 

§9.  THE  BROADENING  HORIZON  OF  YOUTH 

Adolescence  is  marked  by  a  widening  of  outlook.  Such 
also  applies  here.  The  change  of  name  from  the  reaction¬ 
ary  “True”  to  that  of  Holland  Christian  Reformed,  and  the 
dropping  of  “Holland”,  agreed  on  in  1890,  with  the  union 
with  Hackensack’s  Classis  (cf.  Chapter  III,  §1),  is  an  evi¬ 
dence  of  a  giving  up  of  the  narrowness  and  exclusiveness 
of  former  days.  The  legal  incorporation  of  the  local  con¬ 
gregation  something  which  had  been  an  issue  leading  to 
separation  in  the  Netherlands,  was  advocated  and  effected 
without  protest,  in  1881.  In  fact,  the  Grand  Rapids  con¬ 
gregation  was  incorporated  already  before  1861.  Prohibi¬ 
tion  was  favored  by  some  as  early  as  1887,  and  the  Rev. 
R.  T.  Kuiper  even  voiced  the  sentiment  that  it  did  not  mat¬ 
ter  if  the  bread  of  the  Communion  Table  were  leavened  or 
unleavened,  the  Communion  wine  red  or  white,  fermented 
or  unfermented.  The  Synod  of  1884  rescinded  a  former 
resolution  prohibiting  the  elders  from  reading  a  sermon 
from  the  pulpit  platform — a  hotly-debated  matter  across 
the  Ocean  at  one  time.  The  formerly  so  burning  questions 
of  the  second  holidays  and  of  fire  insurance  were,  in  1886, 
declared  to  be  adiaphorous  matters — left  to  the  conscience 
of  the  individuals.  There  were  still  signs  indicative  of  a 
surviving  of  the  old  spirit  of  exclusiveness.  But  in  many 


92 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


ways  there  was  a  development  as  to  the  conception  of 
things,  a  broadening  out  of  views  as  well  as  of  policies, 
under  the  leadership  of  men  influenced  by  Dr.  Vos,  and 
particularly  by  Dr.  A.  Kuyper  and  Dr.  H.  Bavinck — and 
these  men  not  alone  among  the  American-trained  minis¬ 
try,  but  also  among  laymen  of  more  recent  immigration, 
profoundly  affected  by  the  writings  of  these  Dutch  leaders 
and  by  the  reformatory  movement  of  the  Doleantie  by 
which,  in  1886,  a  strong  element,  loyal  to  Dr.  Kuyper  and 
his  presentation  of  the  truth,  were  forced  out  of  the  Estab¬ 
lished  Church.  We  shall  notice  more  of  this  influence  in 
§6  of  our  next  chapter.  During  the  period  of  1880 — 1900 
the  Church  Order  and  Liturgy  remained  unchanged.  Cate¬ 
chetical  preaching  and  teaching  were  maintained  as  well 
as  the  Psalter  as  chief  manual  of  praise,  even  though  for  a 
time  some  pleaded  for  hymns.  A  concession  of  the  Synod 
of  1883,  allowing  the  use  of  German  hymns  in  the  German 
work,  was  made  only  under  protest  and  rescinded  in  1888. 
The  education  of  the  ministry  and  membership  remained 
object  of  zealous  care  as  other  Chapters  show.  Taking 
all  in  all,  the  adolescent  period  seemed  to  hold  the  prom¬ 
ise  of  vigorous  early  manhood.  Alas!  that  that  period 
also,  as  we  shall  see  in  Chapter  V,  should  be  marked  and 
marred  by  conflicts.  Nearly  every  human  being  must  face 
them  at  times.  So  would  the  Church  here  described. 

TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  How  many  and  which  were  the  Classes  organized  in  the 
period  from  1880 — 1900? 

2.  Name  four  of  the  leading  men  of  this  period. 

3.  Describe  the  history  of  the  Masonic  Movement. 

4.  What  can  you  say  about  the  German  element? 

5.  What  can  you  say  about  the  Americanization  Movement? 

6.  Which  great  motive  was  not  recognized  in  this  Americani¬ 
zation  Movement? 

7.  Give  the  history  of  the  rise  of  the  Sunday  school  among  us. 

8.  Which  change  was  evident  as  to  theological  doctrinal 
thinking? 

9.  Which  type  of  religion  came  to  the  foreground  from  1880 
to  1900? 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  DURING  ITS  PERIOD 
OF  EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE,  1900—1920 


Introductory:  1920  marking  a  transition.  §1.  Vigor  displayed  in 
church  extension.  §2.  A  Strengthened  Ministry.  §3.  Increas¬ 
ing  Strength  of  the  American  Element:  Publications  in  English. 
§4.  Financial  and  Personal  Offerings  Increased.  §5.  New  Con¬ 
nections  Made  and  Correspondence  Defined.  §6.  Influence  of 
Doctors  Kuyper  and  Bavinck,  Utrecht  Conclusions,  Creed  Re¬ 
vision.  §7.  Strife  Among  the  Brethren:  Neo-Calvinism,  the 
Baptism  Membership  Question,  Hackensack’s  Defection,  the 
Labor  Union  Problem,  the  “Maranatha”  Case.  Significance  of 
the  Settling  of  these  Issues.  §8.  The  Denominational  Calling 
Defined.  §9.  As  Others  See  Us. 

INTRODUCTORY:  1920  MARKING  A  TRANSITION? 

IN  THE  MAIN,  the  history  covered  in  this  Chapter  ter¬ 
minates  with  1920.  It  seemed  wise  to  us  to  do  so  since 
we  did  not  wish  to  discuss  issues  still  pending,  particularly 
the  one  on  Common  Grace,  and  those  involved  in  the  case 
of  Prof.  Dr.  R.  Janssen.  We  are  standing  in  too  close 
proximity  to  such  matters  to  judge  them  objectively  and 
in  all  their  bearings.  Moreover,  we  deemed  it  wise  not  to 
go  beyond  1920  because  it  looks  to  us  that  we  are  at  the 
beginning  of  a  new  period  in  the  history  of  our  Church. 
The  present  years  are  those  of  transition.  The  great 
World  War  shook  the  whole  of  humanity.  The  Church,  a 
part  of  this  humanity,  could  not  escape  the  upsetting  of 
things  and  the  changing  of  thoughts  involved  in  this. 
Moreover,  Protestant  North  America,  to  confine  ourselves 
to  that,  is  rapidly  changing.  The  acceptance  and  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  hypothesis  of  Evolution  has  brought  forward 
“Old  foes  with  new  faces”:  Rationalism,  including  Higher 
Criticism  as  it  undermines  Rible  authority,  Materialism, 


94 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


and  Worldliness.  These  foes  from  without  are  also  threat¬ 
ening  us  more  and  more,  since  the  former  barriers  of 
language  isolation  and  lack  of  means  to  obtain  culture  are 
practically  removed.  Besides  these  there  are  indications, 
or  at  least  charges  made,  that  our  differences  are  no  longer 
as  before,  intra-confessional,  but  much  deeper  and 
broader.  One  noteworthy  publication,  The  Foe  Within 
the  Gate ,  evidences  this  in  its  very  title.  At  the  Synod  of 
1920  the  significant  terms  “progressives”  and  “conserva¬ 
tives”  were  used  repeatedly  and  without  being  challenged. 
There  has  been  a  marked  difference  in  the  spirit  of  some 
articles  printed  in  Religion  and  Culture  (see  §3  below),  as 
compared  with  others  in  The  Witness. 

We  do  not  view  the  future  without  apprehension  as  we 
note  statements  volunteered  in  some  periodicals  about 
Psalms  vs.  Hymns,  calls  for  a  change  in  Catechism  preach¬ 
ing,  a  questioning  of  the  value  of  creedal  statements,  etc. 
Moreover,  such  books  as  Dr.  James  Orr’s  The  Progress 
of  Dogma ,  and  the  agitation  in  the  Netherland  Churches 
about  the  “extension  of  the  Confession”,  will  not  fail  to 
bring  up  new  issues  among  us.  What  has  been  called  “the 
urgent  need  of  a  theology  which  expresses  the  social  as¬ 
pects  of  Christ’s  Gospel  with  the  same  emphasis  as  the  New 

Testament  does” . “the  need  of  the  modern  church, 

requiring  in  addition  to  the  well-tested  theological  funda¬ 
mentals,  the  formulation  and  authoritative  adoption  of 
ethical  and  social  dogmas”,  (Vollmer,  New  Testament  So¬ 
ciology,  pp.  269  ff.),  that,  too,  will  not  leave  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  in  America  untouched. 

And  so,  not  to  mention  more  “signs  of  the  times”,  we 
seem  to  be  on  the  border-line  of  a  new  epoch,  and  one  that 
will  confront  us  with  new  difficulties. 

In  the  Calvinist  of  September  15,  1917,  the  Rev.  W. 
Groen  wrote  about  “The  Difficulties  that  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  must  Overcome  in  Solving  its  Problem 
of  Americanization”.  He  asked :  “Can  these  churches  re- 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


95 


tain  their  distinctive  features  and  flourish  as  the  influence 
of  the  religious  and  church  life  of  the  Netherlands  be¬ 
comes  weaker,  and  our  people  are  assimiliated  by  the 
growing  American  nation?”  The  first  difficulty,  he  stated, 
was  the  lack  of  a  single  vivid  historical  background.  Three 
movements  are  involved  in  the  growth  of  the  denomina¬ 
tion:  of  1857,  of  1881,  and  the  influence  from  the  Nether¬ 
lands  since  1890.  “The  last  has  an  overwhelming  influ¬ 
ence.  However,  the  break  with  the  Netherlands  must  come 
sooner  or  later,  and  as  a  result  there  will  arise  the  ques¬ 
tion:  Can  the  Church  be  self-sustaining  after  such  a 
break,  or  shall  this  prove  fatal?  The  answer  depends 
upon  whether  or  not  these  churches  can  reconstruct  their 
historical  background  and  create  for  themselves  a  definite 
task  for  the  future”. 

The  second  difficulty,  it  was  asserted  by  Rev.  Groen, 
would  be  that  of  applying  a  strict  discipline  even  over  the 
industrial  lives  of  the  membership — in  view  of  the  spirit 
of  American  economic  principles,  and  the  third  one  pro¬ 
ceeded,  it  was  said  from  American  religious  life,  which 
cares,  as  a  rule,  little  for  purity  of  faith  and  doctrinal 
distinctions. 

No  doubt,  there  are  “breakers  ahead”.  May  the  God 
of  our  Fathers,  the  God  of  ages  past,  be  our  hope  for  years 
to  come!  In  dependence  on  Him,  we  trust  that  the  strength 
of  our  principles  will  not  fail  to  make  itself  felt. 
There  were  tests  endured  with  encouraging  results  in  the 
matters  related  in  §6,  as  we  shall  mention  at  its  end. 
While  not  without  fears  for  our  part  of  God’s  Zion,  we  are 
hopefully  facing  the  future.  Let  us  pray  and  plead  much, 
as  Habakkuk  (3:  2)  that  Jehovah  may  maintain  and  re¬ 
vive  His  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years.  That  we  should 
name  this  Chapter  that  of  “Early  Manhood”  will,  we 
think,  be  justified  by  history.  For  one  thing,  as  such  a 
period  is  marked  by  a  cessation  of  external  growth,  it  is 
notable  that  the  opening  years  of  the  third  decade  of  the 


96 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


twentieth  century  are  already  showing  that  the  ratio  of 
our  numerical  increase  is  not  what  it  was  in  former 
decades. 


§1.  VIGOR  IN  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

Early  Manhood  stands  for  strength  rather  than  for 
growth  physically,  for  calm  accomplishment  rather  than 
idealistic  dreaming,  although  not  all  idealism  is  lost;  for 
contact  with  outsiders,  for  development  and  fixing  of  prin¬ 
ciples,  and  if  need  be  for  facing  issues,  even  though  this 
involves  unpleasant  conflict.  These  things,  to  some  ex¬ 
tent,  apply  to  the  history  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  from  1900  to  1920. 

Growth  in  numbers  was  not  as  marked  from  1900  on¬ 
ward  as  from  1880—1900,  due  in  part  to  the  practical  ces¬ 
sation  of  immigration  during  the  great  World  War.  Still, 
the  increase  from  144  churches  in  1900,  to  245  at  the  end 
of  1920,  and  from  53,794  souls,  to  nearly  95,995,  during  the 
same  period,  was  encouraging.  Moreover,  the  fact  that 
the  number  of  classical  organizations  had  increased  from 
nine  in  1900,  to  thirteen  by  1912,  showed  a  closer  knitting, 
a  better  articulating  of  the  body  ecclesiastical.  The  old 
Classis  of  Iowa  was,  in  September,  1904,  divided  into  two 
bodies:  Classis  Pella  and  Classis  Orange  City.  March, 
1910,  the  Classis  of  Pacific  was  formed  as  an  offshoot  of 
the  Orange  City  organization,  and  two  years  later  (March, 
1912),  the  Sioux  Center  Classis  was  organized  as  a  second 
offshoot.  Vigor  was  displayed,  moreover,  in  the  way  of 
permanent  church  extension.  While,  as  stated  in  Chap¬ 
ter  IV,  §7,  the  far-flung  battle  line  had  crossed  the  Cana¬ 
dian  border  northward,  reached  Colorado,  Texas  and 
New  Mexico  southward,  Maryland  in  the  East,  and  the 
Pacific  coast  in  the  extreme  northwest  of  the  United  States, 
this  did  not  prove  lasting.  Various  causes  led  to  a  prac¬ 
tical  retreat.  But  it  was  only  a  temporary  setback  that 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


97 


was  suffered.  In  1900  permanent  work  was  begun  in  Lyn- 
den,  Washington.  Oak  Harbor,  on  Whitby  Island,  Wash¬ 
ington,  was  revived  the  next  year.  In  1908  a  church  was 
organized  in  Winnipeg,  Manitoba.  Two  years  later,  in 
Canada’s  far  northwest,  Edmonton  came  into  being.  Dur¬ 
ing  1909  a  promising  work  was  begun  in  California,  at 
Redlands,  and  the  outlook  for  growth  in  that  beautiful 
State  is  encouraging.  In  Colorado’s  capital  permanent 
work  was  started  in  1907.  Montana  had  become  the  home 
of  a  strong  church,  Manhattan,  already  in  1903.  Help  was 
extended  even  to  the  struggling  Argentina  churches,  help 
hitherto  confined  to  financial  assistance,  because  insur¬ 
mountable  obstacles  prevented  the  going  thither  of  a 
clergyman,  as  the  Synod  of  1904  had  resolved  upon.  (See 
Chapter  VI,  §7.)  The  upper  peninsula  of  Michigan  also 
was  invaded,  Rudyard  dating  from  1901.  Indeed,  it  had 
become  a  “far-flung  battle  line”,  and  American  publica¬ 
tions  began  to  note  that  there  was  such  a  denomination  as 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church. 

§2.  A  STRENGTHENED  MINISTRY 

Numerically,  this  is  true  first  of  all.  The  ninety-eight 
preachers  of  1900  had,  by  the  end  of  1920,  become  a  force 
of  one  hundred  eighty-six  ministers.  But,  secondly,  and 
that  is  what  we  had  in  mind  particularly,  the  ministerial 
force  was  strengthened  in  this  period  because  a  better  edu¬ 
cation  was  furnished,  as  shown  by  the  constantly  im¬ 
proved  curriculum,  Chapter  VI,  §3  and  §4.  An  increasing 
number  obtained  the  A.B.  degree.  Several  took  a  post¬ 
graduate  course  in  Princeton  Seminary.  A  limited  num¬ 
ber  obtained  doctor’s  degrees  at  the  Free  University  of 
Amsterdam  and  at  other  institutions  of  higher  learning. 
Publications  of  various  sorts  indicated  mental  vigor  that 
commanded  respect  from  outsiders. 


98 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§3.  INCREASING  STRENGTH  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
ELEMENT.  PUBLICATIONS 

As  we  noted  in  Chapter  IV,  §6,  in  1900  only  two  Ameri¬ 
can-speaking  congregations  existed,  apart  from  those  of 
the  Hackensack  Classis.  But  soon  a  change  occurred.  Not 
alone  were  a  number  of  churches  of  this  kind  organized  in 
Michigan,  in  the  heart  of  the  old  “Colony”,  but  as  early  as 
1903  Chicago  saw  the  birth  of  Second  Englewood,  the  van¬ 
guard  of  the  Classis  of  Illinois.  In  1920  the  Mississippi 
was  crossed  by  the  movement,  Austinville  dating  from 
1920,  and  even  in  faraway  Washington,  Second  Lynden 
came  to  birth  in  the  same  year.  In  the  Hudson  Classis  the 
English  movement  grew  more  slowly.  ^While  several 
churches  conducted  some  services  in  the  language  of  the 
land  prior  to  the  date,  in  Paterson  the  “Bethel”  congrega¬ 
tion  did  not  originate  earlier  than  December,  1921,  beyond 
the  time  limit  of  this  Chapter. 

That  the  American  element  increased  strongly  was  also 
shown  by  the  growth  of  The  Banner.  Started  in  1866  by 
the  Rev.  J.  Y.  De  Baun  as  a  16-page  monthly,  called  The 
Banner  of  Truth ,  the  official  organ  of  the  True  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  it  was,  in  December,  1903,  transferred  to 
Michigan,  in  charge  of  “The  Banner  of  Truth  Publishing 
Co.,”  with  the  Rev.  J.  Noordewier  as  president,  and  the  Rev. 
H.  Beets  as  editor-in-chief,  assisted  by  various  brethren. 
Already  in  December,  1906,  the  new  Company  was  able 
to  make  the  paper  a  weekly.  In  1914  it  was  sold  to  the  de¬ 
nomination  to  take  its  place  next  to  De  Wachter  as  de¬ 
nominational  organ,  its  subscription  list  in  1920  number¬ 
ing  5,300  subscribers. 

During  the  fall  of  the  preceding  year  the  Yearbook  for 
1914  marked  the  first  one  of  a  series  of  annuals  for  denom¬ 
inational  purposes  in  the  language  of  the  land.  In  1914  a 
metrical  version  of  the  Psalms,  for  use  in  the  American 
churches,  was  approved  of  by  the  Synod,  even  as  an  offi- 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


59 


cial  translation  into  English  of  the  Standards  and  Liturgy 
and  Church  Order  had  been  prepared,  matters  discussed 
in  detail  in  Chapters  VIII  and  X. 

That  English  was  increasingly  used  in  the  Seminary  as 
medium  of  instruction  and  exclusively  in  “Calvin  College”, 
marked  progress  in  Americanization,  as  well  as  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  a  series  of  Catechism  books  in  English,  by  the 
Revs.  H.  Beets  and  M.  J.  Bosnia  (Chapter  IX,  §4).  The  ap¬ 
pearance  of  the  Instructor  for  the  Sabbath  School  (1915), 
as  well  as  the  cessation  of  the  publication  of  its  Dutch  pre¬ 
decessor,  the  Sabbathschool  Bode  (1920),  were  other  evi¬ 
dences  of  the  linguistic  change  going  on. 

The  Michigan  Annual  Sabbath  School  Convention,  dat¬ 
ing  from  1895,  at  first  conducting  its  exercises  exclusively 
in  Dutch,  had  at  its  meeting  in  1920  not  a  single  subject 
handled  in  the  language  of  the  fathers.  That  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Schools  had  discarded  the  Holland  language  as  medi¬ 
um  of  instruction  in  nearly  every  instance  during  the 
second  decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  is  shown  in  Chap¬ 
ter  VI,  §6,  which  also  mentions  publications  advocating  the 
cause. 

While,  strictly  speaking,  stepping  over  the  boundary 
line  of  the  period  covered  by  this  Chapter,  we  add  here 
that  the  monthly  organ  of  the  students  of  the  Theological 
School  and  Calvin  College,  the  Calvin  College  Chimes 
(dating  from  1906),  while  at  first  publishing  a  consider¬ 
able  number  of  articles  in  the  speech  of  the  fathers,  is  in¬ 
creasingly  employing  the  American  language,  while  the 
Grundy  College  Messenger ,  from  its  first  issue  (Novem¬ 
ber  1921)  onward,  used  the  English  exclusively.  This  de¬ 
crease  of  Dutch  and  the  increase  of  English  likewise  ap¬ 
pears  in  other  publications  circulating  among  our  people. 
De  Heidenwereld  also  introduced  an  English  department 
in  1920. 

The  Witness,  which  made  its  bow  to  the  public  in  De¬ 
cember,  1921,  as  “A  monthly  published  in  the  interest  of 


100 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


the  Reformed  faith”,  was  bi-lingual  from  the  start.  Reli¬ 
gion  and  Culture ,  however,  at  first,  from  May  1918,  a 
quarterly,  and  since  June  1921  a  monthly  periodical,  pub¬ 
lishes  nothing  but  English  articles,  although  quotations  in 
the  tongue  of  the  fathers  liberally  sprinkle  some  of  its 
contributions. 

We  should  not  fail  to  name  here,  although  not  confined 
to  our  denomination,  but,  like  De  Heidenwereld,  meant 
for  both  the  Reformed  and  Christian  Reformed  Churches, 
The  Young  Calvinist,  formerly  the  “Clarion  Series”.  Since 
January  1920  it  appears  monthly  as  the  official  organ  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Reformed  Young  Men’s  Socie¬ 
ties.  This  Federation,  organized  in  September,  1919,  in 
1923  enrolled  thirty  Societies  located  in  seven  different 
States  of  our  Union.  “Its  purpose  is  to  aid  the  young  men 
of  our  churches  in  the  many  difficulties  that  present  them¬ 
selves,  especially  in  connection  with  the  Americanization 
process.  For  that  reason  the  Federation  tries  to  organize 
Young  Men’s  Societies  wherever  possible.  These  Young 
Men’s  Societies  it  aims  to  organize  into  strong  local 
leagues.  The  ideal  is  to  have  every  young  man  affiliated 
with  a  group,  and  all  these  groups  united  in  a  strong  na¬ 
tional  organization.  Realizing  the  difficulty  of  continuing 
to  preserve  the  interest  of  our  young  men  in  the  distinctive 
Reformed  principles,  the  Federation  is  ever  working  to¬ 
ward  that  ideal”.  (President  R.  Postma  quoted  in  The 
Banner,  April  12,  1923.) 

§4.  FINANCIAL  AND  PERSONAL  OFFERINGS  INCREASED 

At  first  most  of  the  people  belonging  to  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  possessed  but  slender  means.  “Not 
many  noble,  not  many  rich”  applied  to  our  pioneers  in 
America  as  well  as  to  the  early  Christians  in  Corinth.  Rut 
in  the  course  of  time,  Dutch  energy  and  thrift  revealed 
itself  encouragingly  as  shown  also  in  congregational  and 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


101 


denominational  property  holdings.  The  government  cen¬ 
sus  of  religious  bodies  for  1906  stated  that  there  were  181 
church  edifices  belonging  to  the  churches  of  the  denom¬ 
ination,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  62,334.  Church  prop¬ 
erty  was  valued  at  $903,600,  against  which  there  appeared 
an  indebtedness  of  $216,287,  and  136  parsonages,  valued 
at  $290,250.  Thirteen  organizations  were  using  halls.  As 
compared  to  the  report  for  1890  these  figures  showed  an  in¬ 
crease  of  75  organizations,  14,199  communicants,  and 
$475,100  in  the  value  of  church  property.  But  in  the  cen¬ 
sus  report  of  1916  a  splendid  and  somewhat  uniform  in¬ 
crease  was  registered.  There  were  then  reported  233 
church  edifices,  valued  at  the  sum  of  $1,658,308,  an  in¬ 
crease  of  83  per  cent  since  1906.  The  indebtedness  in  1916 
resting  on  the  church  buildings  was  $486,408.  The  184  par¬ 
sonages,  about  which  data  were  sent  in,  were  valued  at 
$619,095,  an  increase  of  113  per  cent  above  1906.  The  aver¬ 
age  salary  for  pastors  was  given  in  1916  as  $1,073,  whereas 
at  first  the  amounts  usually  were  from  $300  to  $500,  plus 
use  of  the  parsonages.  Contributions  for  missions  and 
benevolences  in  the  last  named  year  were  reported  as 
$159,400,  an  increase  of  $29,739  since  1906,  or  22  per  cent 
higher  than  the  preceding  decade.  It  was  also  stated  in 
the  1916  report  that  church  expenditures  as  given  by  221 
organizations,  covering  running  expenses,  improvements, 
and  benevolences,  amounted  to  $715,193 — a  creditable 
showing  indeed. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  parsonages  as  well  as 
church  edifices  had  become  considerably  better  as  the 
years  rolled  by.  It  is  true,  the  Van  Raalte  church  build¬ 
ing,  erected  in  1856,  was  a  noble  type  of  a  house  of  wor¬ 
ship,  but  nearly  all  of  the  older  structures  used  for  church 
services  were  far  less  stately.  In  fact,  some  of  them  were 
not  much  better  in  appearance  than  barns.  Slowly  on, 
however,  a  change  for  the  better  set  in.  The  edifice  of  the 
first  church  of  Grand  Rapids,  erected  in  1870,  located  on 


102 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Spring  Street  (now  Commerce  Avenue),  was  a  solid  brick 
structure,  with  a  good  sized  steeple  to  adorn  it.  The  first 
American-speaking  church  in  Grand  Rapids,  in  1887 
reared  a  church  edifice  which  betokened  dignity,  and  dur¬ 
ing  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century  dozens  of 
congregations  in  Michigan  and  in  the  East,  and  a  few  in 
the  West,  built  fine  brick  houses  of  worship  as  well  as 
comfortable  pastor’s  homes.  Different  church  funds  also 
showed  a  laudable  increase  of  the  spirit  of  generous  giv¬ 
ing,  particularly  the  Emeritus  Fund.  Dating  from  1874  it 
was  but  a  struggling  “martyr”,  trying  to  keep  the  wolf 
from  the  door  of  aged  and  indigent  pastors  and  pastors’ 
widows  and  orphans,  depending  as  it  was  on  “collections” 
twice  a  year.  But  in  1904  it  was  placed  on  an  assessment 
basis,  and  since  then  has  nobly  acted  its  part  in  caring  for 
the  retired  veterans  of  the  cross  and  the  bereaved  families 
of  departed  ministers.  The  same  spirit  of  increased  offer¬ 
ing  for  denominational  funds  was  shown  in  the  receipts  of 
Church  Help ,  a  treasury  created  in  1892  to  aid  new  con¬ 
gregations  to  obtain  church  property.  Its  first  committee, 
organized  in  1894,  was  composed  of  the  Revs.  E.  Breen, 
J.  Manni,  and  H.  Bode.  In  1920  it  was  reported  that  over 
$38,000  was  owed  to  the  fund  by  the  various  churches 
which  had  been  aided — a  comparatively  small  amount. 
However,  if  this  little  tree  is  properly  taken  care  of  it  will 
prove  some  day  that  “tall  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow”. 

But  far  more  uplifting  and  encouraging  than  this  in¬ 
crease  in  gifts  of  money  is  the  increase  in  Personal  Offer¬ 
ings.  And  by  this  we  mean  the  giving  of  one’s  self  in  dedi¬ 
cation  to  Kingdom  work.  While  many  denominations  in 
our  land  utter  bitter  complaints  about  a  falling  off  in 
numbers  of  students  for  the  ministry  at  home  and  for 
mission  work  abroad,  the  opposite  was  the  case  among  us. 
Whereas  during  1900  only  17  students  were  reported  en¬ 
rolled  in  the  Seminary  department  of  the  Theological 
School  and  55  in  its  Preparatory  Department  —  the 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


103 


School  catalog  for  1920 — 1921  gave  as  summary  of  en¬ 
rollment  44  in  the  Seminary,  122  in  the  College,  and  131  in 
the  Preparatory  School.  While  not  all  in  the  College  and 
Preparatory  departments  were,  of  course,  looking  forward 
to  the  ministry,  the  great  majority  did.  And  whereas 
in  former  days  but  very  few  thought  definitely  of  mission¬ 
ary  work,  by  1920  there  were  at  least  40  “volunteers” — see 
Chapter  VII,  §10. 

§5.  NEW  CONNECTIONS  MADE.  ECCLESIASTICAL 
CORRESPONDENCE  DEFINED 

Manhood  stands,  as  we  said,  for  forming  new  connec¬ 
tions.  That  also  applies  to  affiliations  with  other  denom¬ 
inations.  We  have  already  related  that  the  Anti-Masonic 
Movement  entailed  an  improved  relationship  with  the 
Church  in  the  Netherlands.  Our  pastors  visiting  the  Neth¬ 
erlands  were  welcomed  in  Reformed  pulpits  of  the  old 
Home,  and  in  the  New  World  certificates  of  membership 
coming  from  the  Reformed  churches  of  Holland  were  ac¬ 
cepted  at  face  value.  Still,  this  relationship  was  unde¬ 
fined.  Such  was  also  the  case  with  the  “correspondence” 
carried  on  from  the  first  with  the  Reformed  (Dopper) 
Church  of  South  Africa  and  the  Old  Reformed  churches 
of  Germany.  And  with  none  of  the  American  sister  de¬ 
nominations  a  regular  correspondence  was  carried  on.  Rut 
the  Synod  of  1900  ushered  in  a  new  epoch  by  defining 
what  this  Correspondence  was  to  include  and  with  which 
churches  it  was  to  be  carried  on.  It  was  proposed  to  have 
the  delegates  not  simply  bear  “fraternal  greetings”  to  the 
major  church  courts,  as  customary  in  the  American 
Church  world,  but  to  have  advisory  vote  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  general  interests  of  the  denominations 
concerned.  Watching  that  there  was  to  be  no  departure 
from  Reformed  principles  touching  doctrine,  worship,  or 
discipline  was  stated  to  be  a  mutual  obligation.  In  the 


104 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


case  of  a  proposed  revision  of  Confession  and  Liturgy  in 
so  far  as  doctrines  were  involved,  mutual  consent,  con¬ 
formable  to  the  Word  of  God,  was  declared  needful.  This 
was  assented  to  by  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  in  the  Netherlands.  But  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  of  that  country,  composed  of  those  who  had  re¬ 
fused  to  enter  the  union  of  1892,  was  unwilling  to  begin 
such  relationship,  and  the  Reformed  Church  of  America 
also  declined  to  make  such  arrangements.  The  exchange 
of  greetings  by  fraternal  delegates  at  General  Synods  and 
no  more,  constitute  the  official  connection  between  the  so 
closely  related  bodies  of  Dutch  stock  in  the  New  World. 
Proposals  of  “Church  Comity”  in  home  mission  fields 
were  not  accepted  hitherto. 

Ecclesiastical  correspondence,  consisting  of  exchange 
of  greetings,  is  carried  on  with  several  other  American  de¬ 
nominations,  namely,  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  the 
Synod  and  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Presby¬ 
terians  and  the  Associate  Presbyterian  Church.  The  join¬ 
ing  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ,  re¬ 
solved  in  1918,  was  confirmed  by  the  Synod  of  1922. 

“The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  organized  in  1908,  is  an  agency  for  Christian  co¬ 
operation.  Thirty  Protestant  Evangelical  bodies  are  joined 
in  its  fellowship,  activities  and  support.  Through  the 
Council  these  communions  are  enabled  to  unite  in  con¬ 
crete  service  to  the  community,  the  nation  and  the  world. 

“The  Council  gives  the  churches  cooperating  a  united 
voice  on  questions  of  international  relationship,  world 
peace,  disarmament,  and  the  crusade  for  a  warless  world. 
It  promotes  fellowship  with  churches  of  other  lands,  and 
seeks  the  world-wide  realization  of  Christian  ideals. 

“The  Council  provides  means  for  a  united  impact  of 
the  cooperating  bodies  on  questions  of  vital  importance, 
such  as  united  evangelism,  social  service,  better  race  re¬ 
lations,  international  justice  and  good-will,  works  of 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


105 


mercy,  Christian  education,  and  the  promotion  of  a  better 
type  of  citizenship. 

“The  Council,  through  the  city  and  state  Federations, 
furnishes  a  means  of  bringing  the  combined  power  of  the 
local  Protestant  churches  to  bear  upon  community  prob¬ 
lems  which  concern  them  all.  This  cooperation  results  in 
increased  efficiency  in  cooperative  evangelism,  social 
service,  comity,  Christian  education,  religious  service  in 
public  institutions,  church  publicity,  and  social  and  civic 
betterment”.  (Cf.  The  Banner ,  January  18,  and  February 
15,  1923.) 

The  Home  Missions  Council  of  the  evangelical  denom¬ 
inations  of  North  America,  and  the  Foreign  Missions  Con¬ 
ference  were  joined,  the  former  in  1912,  and  the  latter  in 
1918.  Both  are  organizations  composed  of  delegates  of 
mission  boards  of  evangelical  denominations  of  America 
to  deliberate  and  plan  regarding  common  problems  and 
tasks.  They  have  no  legislative  authority,  hence  the  names 
indicative  of  their  nature:  council,  conference.  They  are, 
however,  of  great  importance  in  shaping  policies  and  are 
practically  indispensible  in  view  of  the  common  tasks  and 
the  national  and  international  relationships  involved  in 
world-wide  work  of  missions.  Not  one  denomination, 
single-handedly,  but  the  whole  Church,  can  bring  the 
whole  gospel  to  the  whole  world.  That  is  the  great  rea¬ 
son  for  cooperation.  Unless  it  means  surrendering  pre¬ 
cious  principles,  such  fellowshipping  in  the  common  King¬ 
dom  task  is  a  necessity  and  a  duty  as  well  as  a  privilege. 

§6.  INFLUENCE  OF  DOCTORS  KUYPER  AND  BAVINCK, 
UTRECHT  CONCLUSIONS,  CREED  REVISION 

In  Chapter  IV,  §8,  we  noted  that  Dr.  G.  Vos  favored 
supra-lapsarism  whose  relative  truth  had  been  defended 
by  Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  although  he  also  accepted  the  truth  in¬ 
volved  in  infra-lapsarism.  In  fact,  neither  he  nor  Dr.  H. 


106 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Bavinck  considered  this  deep  problem  solved  satisfac¬ 
torily.  (Herciut,  No.  1484.)  Both  of  the  men  named  have 
exerted  considerable  influence  on  our  Church-life,  as  al¬ 
ready  remarked  in  §9  of  Chapter  IV.  Particularly  is  this 
true  of  Dr.  Abraham  Kuyper,  born  in  1837,  founder  of  the 
Free  University,  at  one  time  prime  minister  of  the  Nether¬ 
lands,  a  man  of  wonderful  intellect,  and  boundless  energy. 
At  first,  while  Dr.  Kuyper  still  belonged  to  the  Established 
Church,  he  was  looked  at  somewhat  askance  by  the  older 
leaders  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  as 
well  as  by  some  of  the  older  preachers  of  the  American 
Christian  Reformed  Church,  notably  by  the  Rev.  L.  J. 
Hulst  (see  §7  below) .  But  Dr.  Vos  with  his  broader  vision, 
introduced  him  to  his  students  as  a  man  of  genius,  who 
was  not  alone  endeavoring  to  reform  the  old  Church  of 
the  Netherlands  but  rejuvenating  theology  as  well.  Later, 
when  the  reading  of  Dr.  Kuyper’s  weekly,  De  Heraut,  be¬ 
came  more  common  than  before,  and  men  of  a  later  im¬ 
migration  arrived  who  were  enthusiastic  followers  of  the 
Dutch  leader,  his  influence  grew  apace  among  us.  It  is 
still  too  early  to,  adequately  estimate  Dr.  Kuyper’s  influ¬ 
ence  in  the  New  World.  In  the  Old  World  he  was  the  man 
who  fulfilled  what  John  Robinson  had  told  the  Pilgrims 
on  the  way  to  New  England  what  was  going  to  occur: 
new  light  breaking  forth  from  the  Word  of  God. 

As  Daniel  Webster  said  of  Alexander  Hamilton:  “He 
smote  the  rock  of  the  national  resources,  and  abundant 
streams  of  revenue  gushed  forth;  he  touched  the  dead 
corpse  of  Public  Credit  and  it  sprung  upon  its  feet” — so  we 
may  say  as  to  Dr.  Kuyper’s  work.  With  the  Moses’  staff  of 
his  genius  he  touched  the  Reformed  theology,  left  in  a 
petrified  condition,  and  it  displayed  unsuspected  vigor, 
and  he  developed  Calvinism  from  a  system  of  theological 
tenets,  to  a  world-embracing  life  system — a  “Wereld-be- 
schouwing”,  as  the  Dutch  phrase  has  it. 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


107 


The  claim  may  well  be  made  that  Dr.  Kuyper  unfolded 
a  Christian  system  of  thought  which  made  it  possible  that 
all  the  five  faculties  of  a  university  could  cooperate  in  the 
domain  of  science,  to  give  unto  God  all  the  glory,  and  to 
unify  our  thinking.  He  developed  Christian  philanthropy, 
pointing  out  the  way  to  the  deaconate  to  exalt  Christ  as 
the  Consoler.  He  awakened  the  Reformed  people  from 
the  slumber  of  anabaptistic  indifference  regarding  public 
affairs,  showing  that  Christians,  while  pilgrims  here  below, 
as  soldiers  of  Christ  have  a  calling  with  reference  to  the 
life  of  the  nation.  He  was  the  man  of  the  antithesis,  re¬ 
vealed  in  the  domain  of  the  Church,  the  State,  science  and 
social  life. 

In  this  paragraph  a  second  Dutch  leader  of  importance 
should  be  named,  Dr.  Herman  Bavinck.  Born  in  1854,  of 
Bentheimer  descent,  a  son  of  the  Dutch  Secession,  this 
gifted  man  was  trained  in  part  at  the  famous  university  of 
Leyden.  As  professor,  at  first  of  the  Kampen  Theological 
School,  and  later  as  Dr.  Kuyper’s  successor  in  the  chair  of 
dogmatics  of  the  Free  University,  Dr.  Bavinck  wielded  a 
powerful  influence  through  his  masterful  Reformed  Dog¬ 
matics ,  giving  a  scholarly  presentation,  rejuvenation,  and 
affirmation  of  the  truths  of  Christianity  according  to  the 
Reformed  Standards.  His  utterances  on  Common  Grace, 
and  those  of  Dr.  Kuyper  on  it,  originated  later  discussion 
among  us  on  the  subject,  but  excluded  here  for  the  reason 
given  in  the  introductory  paragraph. 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Rullmann,  well  known  Dutch  Church 
historian,  at  our  request,  thus  formulated  the  significance 
of  both  of  these  men :  “Dr.  Kuyper  has  brought  Calvinism 
in  its  national  and  international  significance  to  evaluation 
and  influence.  Dr.  H.  Bavinck  showed  us  the  significance 
of  the  new  culture  for  Christendom.  The  first  named  was 
the  man  of  the  antithesis,  the  last  named  of  the  synthesis, 
hut  both  were  deeply  convinced  of  the  tremendously  big 
task  which  the  Reformed  churches  in  the  Netherlands 


108 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


have  before  them  in  the  future.  For,  with  whatever  gi¬ 
gantic  courage  they  devoted  themselves  to  their  task,  they 
were  the  first  ones  to  acknowledge  that  they  left  much  of 
it  undone,  and  reminded  of  the  word  of  a  Lasco,  the  or¬ 
ganizer  of  the  Holland  Refugee  Church  in  London,  that 
the  development  of  succeeding  centuries  was  not  to  be 
stopped,  owing  to  the  increased  light  which  God  might 
bring  forth  through  following  generations.” 

In  a  Church  History  of  this  nature,  we  cannot  go  into 
details  as  to  the  program  and  achievements  of  these  great 
men,  giants  in  their  days.  We  must  of  necessity  confine 
ourselves  to  what  most  directly  touched  our  life  as  a  de¬ 
nomination,  and  that  is  in  the  sphere  of  theology. 

Dr.  A.  Kuyper  whom  many  honored  with  something 
akin  to  “hero  worship”,  advanced  certain  peculiar  views 
about  the  great  doctrine  of  Justification,  claiming  that 
there  is  not  alone  a  justification  of  a  sinner  in  time,  when 
he  in  faith  embraces  Christ  and  His  merits,  something 
taught  plainly  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  but  also,  in 
God’s  counsel  from  all  eternity.  Moreover,  Dr.  Kuyper 
claimed  that  regeneration  took  place  immediately, 
through  the  workings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereas  others 
had  taught  that  the  Word  of  God  was  in  all  cases  instru¬ 
mental  in  this  inner  change  of  a  sinner.  A  fourth  point 
he  taught,  in  connection  with  his  views  on  Baptism,  was 
that  the  seed  of  the  Covenant,  according  to  the  promise  of 
God,  is  to  be  considered  born  again  and  sanctified  in 
Christ  until  the  contrary  fact  is  shown,  later  on  in  life. 

These  views  led  to  much  agitation  in  the  Netherland 
Church,  echoed  in  church  papers  among  us.  But  in  Hol¬ 
land  certain  “Conclusions”  were  adopted  by  the  General 
Synod  of  Utrecht,  held  in  1905.  They  occupied  a  mediating 
viewpoint  of  the  matters  involved,  and  had  a  quieting 
effect.  Such  was  also  the  case  in  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  in  America  which  had  been  stirred  considerably 
about  them,  and  which  formally  adopted  these  “Conclu- 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


109 


sions”  in  1908.  The  discussion  carried  on,  as  well  as  the 
act  of  the  Synods  involved,  had  brought  out  that  the  Re¬ 
formed  conception  of  God’s  truth  was  broad  enough  to 
permit  the  “expansion”  of  the  Creed  of  the  Church,  thus 
recognizing  the  fact  that  Calvinism  is  not  a  petrofact,  in¬ 
capable  of  growth,  but  a  living  organism.  (Cf.  James  Orr, 
The  Progress  of  Dogma ,  Lecture  X.) 

On  the  whole  the  adoption  of  the  “Conclusions”,  as  al¬ 
ready  remarked,  had  a  quieting  and  settling  effect  on  the 
life  of  the  Church,  particularly  regarding  the  Baptism 
question,  alluded  to  in  Chapter  V,  §  8.  Considerable  of  a 
clarifying  and  satisfying  view  of  this  subject  is  due,  we 
believe,  to  the  publishing  (in  1916),  of  Heilig  Zaad,  a 
treatise  on  Baptism,  by  Dr.  J.  Van  Lonkhuyzen,  an  able 
and  zealous  disciple  of  Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  who  particularly  in 
his  Chicago  weekly,  Onze  Toekomst,  constantly  pleads  for 
acceptance  of  the  life-  and  world-view  of  his  revered 
teacher,  as  well  as  for  the  principles  of  Church  polity  ad¬ 
vocated  by  another  strong  man  of  the  Free  University, 
Dr.  F.  L.  Rutgers. 

In  line  with  the  teachings  of  Kuyper,  Bavinck  and  Rut¬ 
gers,  doctrinal  development  was  shown  in  what  may  be 
called  a  revision  of  the  Creed.  Article  XXXVI  of  the 
Netherland  Confession  of  Faith  (see  Chapter  VIII,  §2  of 
this  History),  declared  civil  government  or  the  magis¬ 
tracy,  “not  only  to  have  regard  unto,  and  watch  for  the 
welfare  of  the  civil  state;  but  also  that  they  protect  the 
sacred  ministry;  and  thus  remove  and  prevent  all  idolatry 
and  false  worship;  that  the  kingdom  of  antichrist  may  be 
thus  destroyed  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  promoted.  They 
must  therefore  countenance  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
everywhere,  that  God  may  be  honored  and  worshipped  by 
every  one,  as  he  commands  in  his  Word.” 

The  Synod  of  1910  declared  that  “This  phrase,  touch¬ 
ing  the  office  of  the  magistracy  in  its  relation  to  the 
Church,  proceeds  on  the  principle  of  the  Established 


110 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Church,  which  was  first  applied  by  Constantine  and  after¬ 
wards  also  in  many  Protestant  countries.  History,  how¬ 
ever,  does  not  support  the  principle  of  State  domination 
over  the  Church,  but  rather  the  separation  of  Church  and 
State.  Moreover,  it  is  contrary  to  the  New  Dispensation 
that  authority  be  vested  in  the  State  to  arbitrarily  reform 
the  Church,  and  to  deny  the  Church  the  right  of  indepen¬ 
dently  conducting  its  own  affairs  as  a  distinct  territory 
alongside  the  State.  The  New  Testament  does  not  subject 
the  Christian  Church  to  the  authority  of  the  State  that  it 
should  be  governed  by  political  measures,  but  to  our  Lord 
and  King  only  as  an  independent  territory  alongside  and 
altogether  independent  of  the  State,  that  it  may  be  gov¬ 
erned  and  edified  by  its  office-bearers  and  with  spiritual 
weapons  only.  Practically  all  Reformed  Churches  have 
repudiated  the  idea  of  the  Established  Church,  and  are 
advocating  the  autonomy  of  the  churches  and  personal  lib¬ 
erty  of  conscience  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  service  of 
God. 

“The  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  America,  being  in 
full  accord  with  this  view,  feels  constrained  to  declare  that 
it  does  not  conceive  of  the  office  of  the  magistracy  in  this 
sense,  that  it  be  in  duty  bound  to  also  exercise  political 
authority  in  the  sphere  of  religion,  by  establishing  and 
maintaining  a  State  Church,  advancing  and  supporting  the 
same  as  the  only  true  Church,  and  to  oppose,  to  persecute 
and  to  destroy  by  means  of  the  sword  all  the  other 
Churches  as  being  false  religions;  and  to  also  declare  that 
it  does  positively  hold  that,  within  its  own  secular  sphere, 
the  magistracy  has  a  divine  duty  towards  the  first  table  of 
the  Law  as  well  as  towards  the  second;  and  furthermore 
that  both  State  and  Church  as  institutions  of  God  and 
Christ  have  mutual  rights  and  duties  appointed  them  from 
on  high,  and  therefore  have  a  very  sacred  reciprocal  obli¬ 
gation  to  meet  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  proceeds  from 
Father  and  Son.  They  may  not,  however,  encroach  upon 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


111 


each  other’s  territory.  The  Church  has  rights  of  sover¬ 
eignty  in  its  own  sphere  as  well  as  the  State.” 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church,  therefore,  unequivoc¬ 
ally  announced  that  it  stood  for  a  free  Church  in  a  free 
State — a  thoroughly  American  principle. 

§7.  STRIFE  AMONG  BRETHREN:  NEO-CALVINISM,  THE 

BAPTIZED  MEMBERSHIP  QUESTION,  HACKENSACK’S 
DEFECTION,  THE  LABOR  UNION  PROBLEM, 

THE  “MARANATHA”  CASE 

“Neo-Calvinism”.  It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  no 
voices  would  be  raised  among  us  in  protest  against  at  least 
some  of  Dr.  Kuyper’s  views.  In  a  book,  “Oud-  en  Nieuw 
Calvinisme,  by  Rev.  L.  J.  Hulst  and  Prof.  G.  K.  Hemkes 
(1913),  it  was  asserted  that  Dr.  Kuyper  had  “changed  the 
accent  (klemtoon)  regarding  different  matters,  among 
them  the  conception  of  theology  as  a  science,  common 
grace,  the  fundamental  conception  of  Calvinism,  Justifica¬ 
tion,  the  Covenant  of  Grace,  and  Regeneration.  This,  it 
was  claimed,  had  serious  consequences  for  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  Word  and  the  Sacraments,  and  for  the  Church 
as  to  its  purpose  and  ministry. 

But  the  publication  of  the  volume  of  the  two  venerable 
men  who  wrote  it,  caused  no  marked  disturbance.  Discus¬ 
sion  of  the  matter  in  the  columns  of  the  religious  monthly 
De  Gereformeerde  Amerikaan,  a  discussion  opened  in 
1905,  had  in  its  day,  made  a  much  deeper  impression  and 
caused  considerable  more  agitation  in  the  press  as  well  as 
in  various  congregational  circles. 

More  serious  in  outward  consequences  than  all  this  dis¬ 
cussion  of  “Neo-Calvinism”,  was  another  matter  causing 
“strife  among  the  Brethren”.  We  refer  to  agitation  lead¬ 
ing  to  legislation  and  secession  on  the  subject  of  certain 
rights  of  adult  baptized  members,  a  matter  which  for 
brevity’s  sake  we  call: 


112 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


The  Baptism  Membership  Question.  From  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  Dutch  Secession  it  had  been  allowed  by  the 
Rev.  De  Cock  and  others  to  have  parents  who  themselves 
had  not  yet  made  confession  of  faith,  but  were  walking  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  flock,  present  their  infants  to  Baptism. 
But  just  like  the  ’’Half-way  Covenant”  in  New  England 
led  to  undesirable  results,  so  with  this  “Baptized  Member 
System”,  as  it  came  to  be  called.  Large  numbers  of  par¬ 
ents  delayed  taking  vows  of  membership  to  gain  admis¬ 
sion  to  the  Communion  Table,  but  never  hesitated  to  ap¬ 
proach  the  Baptism  Font  with  their  little  ones.  They  al¬ 
lowed  themselves,  in  the  opening  words  of  the  Form  of 
Baptism,  to  be  addressed  as  “Beloved  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ”,  declaring  their  children  to  be  “sanctified”  in  Him, 
but  at  all  other  times  professed  the  contrary,  or  at  least 
did  not  accept  the  inferences  of  what  was  declared  about 
and  by  them  at  Baptism.  And  especially  in  some  congre¬ 
gations  the  percentage  of  regular  membership  was  far  be¬ 
low  what  it  should  be,  compared  to  the  number  of  souls  or 
families.  No  wonder  that  men  of  vision  became  alarmed, 
lest  the  Church  should  degenerate  into  a  “moral  society”  in¬ 
stead  of  remaining  a  Church.  Already  at  the  Synod  of 
1880  the  South  Holland  consistory  registered  an  objection  to 
having  baptized  members  answer  the  questions  of  the 
Form  of  Baptism  at  the  administration  of  the  Sacrament. 
After  considerable  agitation  the  Synod  of  1894  declared 
that  the  Baptized  Membership  System  was  a  departure 
from  the  Word  of  God  and  old  Reformed  ways.  Persis¬ 
tent  refusal  to  partake  of  Communion  was  later  on  de¬ 
clared  to  lead  inevitably  to  excommunication.  The  right 
to  have  baptized  members  present  their  children  to  bap¬ 
tism  was  denied  in  principle  in  1894,  and  gradually  put 
into  practice.  But  in  some  circles  it  took  a  long  time  be¬ 
fore  all  consistories  fell  in  line.  Especially  in  Muskegon  it 
caused  much  agitation,  leading  to  secession  in  1907.  But 
the  Synod  of  1904  emphasized  anew  that  the  principle 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


113 


should  be  maintained,  everywhere.  And  while  not  with¬ 
out  its  drawbacks  in  practical  life,  the  results  are  proving 
the  wisdom  of  insisting  on  keeping  the  use  of  Baptism  and 
Communion  on  parity.  For  one  thing,  the  new  ruling  per¬ 
ceptibly  raised  the  ratio  of  confessing  members.  In  1890 
about  one-third  of  the  persons  belonging  to  the  various 
churches  were  confessing  members  (3.3),  while  the  figures 
of  the  Yearbook  for  1922  showed  that  about  one-half  of 
the  total  number  had  made  confession  of  faith  (2.2).  By 
ways  of  contrast,  to  show  what  unlimited  baptized  mem¬ 
bership  leads  to,  the  Mitarbeiter  of  the  Beformed  Church 
in  America  (November,  1919),  stated  that  of  the  thirty- 
nine  East  Friesian  congregations  of  that  community,  there 
were  eleven  which  numbered  more  families  than  confess¬ 
ing  members. 

Hackensack' s  Defection.  As  stated  in  Chapter  IV,  §5, 
the  Hackensack  Classis,  when  in  1890,  it  voted  for  union, 
made  some  reservations.  It  had  been  resolved,  namely, 
“that  in  this  organic  union  our  internal  government,  forms 
of  church  worship,  and  our  corporate  name  shall  not  be 
interfered  with,  in  any  way,  by  either  Church.  That  we 
be  entitled  to  representation,  that  the  organic  name  shall 
be  Christian  Reformed  Church,  and  that  this  shall  be  the 
basis  of  union”.  Numerically  the  Hackensack  Classis  was 
weak,  only  numbering  507  families,  a  total  of  2,000  souls 
in  its  13  congregations,  shepherded  by  seven  pastors.  And 
it  was  weak  as  to  true  unity  in  a  doctrinal  sense.  Not  long 
after  1890  charges  of  heresy  were  made  against  one  of  the 
pastors,  and  his  Arminianism  was  evident.  There  was 
also  weakness  as  to  church  discipline.  While  Free  Masons 
remained  barred,  according  to  a  resolution  of  1831,  mem¬ 
bers  of  so-called  minor  secret  societies  were  tolerated  as 
church  members.  These  things  led  to  much  unpleasant¬ 
ness,  and  finally  to  open  rupture.  The  majority  of  Classis 
claimed  that  the  union  of  1890  was  conditional,  and  as¬ 
serted  that  the  conditions,  named  above,  had  repeatedly 


114 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


been  violated — that  the  language  barrier  had  prevented 
intelligent  action  at  Synod,  that  new  tests  of  membership 
(referring  to  the  exclusion  of  members  of  minor  orders), 
had  proven  an  injury  to  the  congregations  and  a  source  of 
unrest,  and  that  there  was  difference  in  practice  respecting 
the  Confession.  It  was  charged:  “Far  too  many  (of  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church)  are  satisfied  with  an  objec¬ 
tive  confession,  through  fear  of  Labadism”.  “For  these 
and  other  reasons  we  desire  to  return  to  our  former  fra¬ 
ternal  relation”.  What  those  “other  reasons”  were  has 
never  officially  been  declared. 

But  not  all  of  the  Classis  of  Hackensack  consented  to 
sever  the  ties  with  the  denomination.  Under  the  leader¬ 
ship  of  the  Revs.  J.  A.  Westervelt,  J.  Dolfin,  and  J.  F.  Van 
Houten,  the  stronger  churches  remained  loyal  and,  as 
stated  in  another  connection,  they  helped  to  stop  undesir¬ 
able  “leaks”.  As  to  the  feeble  remnant  of  the  Hackensack 
Classis,  since  1908,  when  it  isolated  itself,  some  of  the  con¬ 
gregations  have  joined  other  denominations.  The  others, 
at  Leonia  and  in  New  York  City,  are  in  a  dying  condition. 

It  was  regrettable  that  the  brethren  involved  practic¬ 
ally  became  defenders  of  the  minor  Secret  Orders.  But 
the  denomination  was  in  no  mood  to  tolerate  this.  The 
principle  had  been  accepted :  fellowship  in  Secret  Orders 
is  incompatible  with  membership  in  our  churches,  and  it 
was  maintained  even  at  the  cost  of  losing  the  cooperation 
of  brethren  accepting  the  same  fundamentals. 

The  Labor  Union  Problem.  The  age-long  struggle  be¬ 
tween  capital  and  labor  resulted  everywhere  in  civilized 
lands  in  the  organization  of  unions  of  workingmen,  some¬ 
times  called  Trade  Unions.  Their  aim  was  combination, 
to  present  a  united  front  to  capital  (which  often  was  com¬ 
bined  for  its  purposes),  in  order  to  protect  labor  and  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  working  class.  In  America 
the  formative  period  of  unionism  lasted  from  about  1740 
to  1840;  quiet  growth,  not  free  from  Socialism,  occurred 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


115 


up  to  1865,  when  a  period  of  active  effort  began.  The 
Knights  of  Labor,  dating  from  1869,  at  first  a  secret  labor 
union,  aimed  to  bring  all  workingmen  into  one  great  or¬ 
ganization  without  reference  to  the  trade  unions  to  which 
they  belonged.  In  1886  they  numbered  half  a  million  of 
members.  Disastrous  strikes  under  their  auspices  caused 
reaction.  Since  1886  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
came  upon  the  foreground.  Its  principles  were  opposed  to 
those  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  in  that  it  recognized  the  full 
autonomy  of  each  trade  to  regulate  its  own  internal  affairs. 

It  was  during  the  ascendency  of  the  Knights  of  Labor 
that  the  attention  of  our  denomination  was  first  drawn  of¬ 
ficially  to  Unionism.  At  first,  1881,  workingmen’s  unions 
were  condemned  out  and  out  as  unchristian.  Two  years 
later  it  was  mentioned  that  some  unions  of  employers  also 
merited  rebuke.  The  Synod  of  1904  quite  properly  distin¬ 
guished  between  degenerated  unions,  whose  principles 
and  activities  are  plainly  contrary  to  Holy  Writ,  and  as¬ 
sociation  with  which  is  incompatible  with  membership  in 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  and  neutral  unions.  About 
the  latter  the  Synod  of  1916  stated  there  were  not  enough 
data  on  hand  to  show  that  membership  in  the  church  was 
incompatible  with  membership  in  them,  “unless  it  can  be 
shown  that  a  certain  union  gives  constitutional  warrant  to 
a  certain  sin  or  sins,  or  reveals  in  its  regular  activities  that 
it  champions  sins.” 

It  had  already  been  decided  in  1892  that  each  union 
was  to  be  judged  on  its  own  merits. 

The  1916  Synod  stated  that  if  any  of  our  people  are 
forced  to  belong  to  a  so-called  neutral  union  in  order  to 
obtain  a  livelihood,  they  are  to  witness  for  Christ  by  word 
and  deed,  in  the  midst  of  these  unions,  and  if  hindered 
in  this,  to  break  with  them. 

Already  in  1892  it  was  attempted  in  Grand  Rapids  to 
form  a  workingmen’s  union  in  a  Christian  spirit,  on  the 


116 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


model  of  the  “Patrimonium”  labor  society  in  the  Nether¬ 
lands,  but  without  lasting  success. 

The  Synod  of  1904  urged  our  men  to  form  Christian  la¬ 
bor  unions,  and  the  one  of  1916  advised  that  in  places 
where  separate  Christian  unions  were  desirable,  they  were 
to  cooperate  as  much  as  possible  with  other  unions  in  or¬ 
der  to  obtain  or  maintain  social  justice. 

This  long  story  shows  that  there  was  indeed  a  wrestling 
with  a  perplexing  problem  to  find  a  Christian  solution.  As 
Prof.  Heyns  expresses  it:  “Since  it  is  undeniable  that 
capital  has  dealth  unfairly  with  labor,  especially  because 
it  pays  the  workingman  what  it  must  and  not  what  it 
should;  since  it  forsakes  him  in  his  old  age,  and  the  State, 
the  police  and  the  press  usually  care  less  for  his  interests 
than  for  those  of  capital,  it  cannot  in  itself  be  condemned 
that  the  laborer  by  means  of  joint  action  tries  to  protect 
and  to  strengthen  himself — unless,  of  course,  he  employs 
forbidden  means  and  himself  oversteps  the  boundaries  of 
justice  and  fairness.  Consequently  the  attitude  of  the 
Church  regarding  unions  is  entirely  different  from  that 
regarding  Secret  Orders.”  (Cf.  Chapter  IX,  §6.) 

The  “Maranatha”  Case.  The  orthodox  American 
church  world,  especially  as  represented  by  the  Moody 
Schools  of  our  land,  in  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth 
century,  was  led  to  champion  Pre-millennialism — a  view 
of  the  “last  things”  which  in  many  respects  was  the  old 
Chiliasm  in  a  new  dress.  In  the  year  1917  the  Rev.  H. 
Bultema  issued  a  book  entitled  Maranatha ,  in  which  he 
made  a  serious  attempt  to  graft  Pre-millennialism  into  the 
stock  of  Reformed  theology.  The  Banner  of  June  14,  1917, 
predicted  that  the  book  would  arouse  considerable  criti¬ 
cism.  Pre-millennial  views,  never  popular  in  Calvinistic 
circles,  had  been  condemned  already  by  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Synod  of  Franeker  in  1863.  In  1883,  when  the 
Rev.  J.  I.  Fles  was  admitted  to  the  denomination,  he  had 
to  retract  certain  views  connected  with  Chiliasm,  ex- 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


117 


pressed  in  his  aforementioned  Catechism  ( Leer  des  Heils). 
Drs.  A.  Kuyper  and  H.  Bavinck  had  condemned  Cliiliasm 
repeatedly  as  Judaistic.  The  fact  that  two  resurrections 
were  taught,  separated  by  the  1,000  years  of  the  Millen¬ 
nium,  two  or  three  different  Comings  of  the  Lord,  and  at 
least  as  many  Judgments,  as  well  as  the  teaching  that 
bloody  sacrifices  would  once  more  be  offered  in  Jerusa¬ 
lem’s  Temple,  as  “memorials  looking  back  to  the  cross” — 
all  these  and  other  things,  had  caused  large  numbers  to 
reject  the  system  taught  in  Rev.  Bultema’s  book.  Particu¬ 
larly  two  teachings  were  singled  out  as  contrary  to  the 
Confession  of  the  denomination,  namely,  the  one  about 
the  essential  difference  between  the  New  Testament 
Church  and  Israel,  and  the  other  about  the  Kingship  of 
Christ.  The  Synod  of  1918,  before  which  the  case  was  laid, 
accepted  the  view  that  according  to  the  Standards  of  the 
Church  there  was  not  the  least  doubt  about  the  two  things 
under  dispute: 

(1)  “The  Unity  of  the  Church  of  all  ages,  Israel  not  ex¬ 
cluded.  The  Church  of  all  ages  is  essentially  one”. 

(2)  “The  Kingship  of  Christ.  Christ  is  not  alone  the 
Head  of  His  Church  in  an  organic  sense,  but  also 
emphatically  King  of  His  Church  in  the  juridical 
sense  of  the  expression.” 

The  consistory  of  the  First  Church  of  Muskegon  was 
charged  to  take  the  matter  up  with  its  pastor.  But  it  re¬ 
fused  to  do  so.  Intervention  from  the  side  of  the  Muskegon 
Classis  at  length  in  1919,  led  to  a  decision  involving  depo¬ 
sition,  something  which  the  consistory  was  unwilling  to 
execute.  Legal  battles  about  the  church  property  brought 
victory  to  that  part  of  the  congregation  which  accepted  the 
Synod’s  interpretation  of  the  Standards,  and  the  old  or¬ 
ganization,  dating  from  1867,  was  continued.  In  Grand 
Rapids,  Grand  Haven,  Holland,  Moline,  and  Chicago,  the 
“Berean  Reformed”,  as  the  new  group  named  itself,  ob- 


118 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


tained  a  foothold.  September  15,  1920,  representatives  of 
these  bodies  met  to  form  a  new  denomination.  Charges 
were  published  against  the  Christian  Reformed  Churches 
embracing  such  serious  things  as  that  the  Word  was  no 
longer  preached  in  purity,  and  that  office-bearers  in  Mus¬ 
kegon  had  been  deposed  and  others  threatened  with  dis¬ 
cipline,  contrary  to  the  Word.  A  third  charge  was  that  the 
Sacraments  were  no  longer  administered  according  to  the 
institution  of  Christ.  The  use  of  the  individual  communion 
cup  was  condemned,  the  tolerance  of  Higher  Criticism  was 
asserted,  as  well  as  the  holding  of  the  view  of  presupposed 
regeneration  and  striving  after  human  greatness  and 
unity  (Be  Bereer,  July  21, 1920).  The  Church  did  not  con¬ 
sider  it  worth  while  to  refute  these  wild  charges,  though 
many  regretted  keenly  that  the  breach  had  been  made.  But 
the  keen  edge  of  that  regret  has  largely  been  worn  off  by 
this  time,  because  different  things,  happening  in  the  camp  of 
the  “Bereans”  and  like-minded  people,  are  plainly  indica¬ 
tive  of  the  fact  that  Pre-millennial  premises  almost  inevit¬ 
ably  lead  to  developments  out  of  line  with  sound  Calvin- 
istic  principles.  (Cf.  The  Banner,  April  7,  1921.) 

The  Significance  of  the  settling  of  the  above  named 
cases  is  more  important  than  such  may  appear  at  first 
sight.  It  is  noteworthy  as  showing  the  trend  of  church 
life,  the  driving  force  of  principle. 

That  the  Neo-Calvinism  controversy  led  to  no  split 
proves  that  the  Reformed  Creed  is  sufficiently  elastic  to 
permit  what  in  the  introductory  paragraph  of  this  Chap¬ 
ter  were  called  intra-confessional  differences,  i.e.,  those 
which  leave  the  fundamentals  untouched. 

The  settling  of  the  Baptized  Membership  question  evi¬ 
denced  the  desire  to  maintain  the  motto  of  the  fathers: 
“Ecclesia  reformata  semper  est  reformanda,y ,  that  is,  the 
Church  meriting  the  name  “Reformed”  must  ever  be  re¬ 
forming.  In  this  case  there  was  imminent  danger  of  the 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


119 


Church  of  God  degenerating  into  a  “moral  society”,  the 
mistake  made  by  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England, 
with  their  “Half-way  Covenant”. 

The  resistance  regarding  “Hackensack’s  Defection” 
indicated  determined  opposition  to  “lower  the  bars”  as  to 
secret  oath-bound  societies  (see  Chapter  IX,  §6),  while, 
the  stand  about  unions  shows  an  attempt  to  be  fair  in  recog¬ 
nizing  the  rightful  place  of  cooperation  in  the  proper  form, 
in  justice  to  labor.  Finally,  the  action  in  the  “Maranatha” 
case  proved  an  awakeness  to  the  fact  that  the  underlying 
principle  of  the  Pre-millennial  view,  a  literal  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  prophecy,  is  subversive  to  the  Christian  Creed  as 
built  up  by  the  struggling  Church  throughout  the  ages, 
and  dividing  what  God  united  in  His  counsel:  His  one 
people,  of  the  Old  as  well  as  of  the  New  Testament  dis¬ 
pensation,  His  one  Vineyard  although  in  charge  of  differ¬ 
ent  keepers;  His  one  Olive  Tree. 

§8.  THE  DENOMINATIONAL  CALLING  STATED 

To  vigorous  manhood  belongs  the  mapping  out  of  a 
life-task.  This  tendency  appeared  also  during  the  period 
of  the  history  of  the  Church  here  described.  While  during 
its  years  of  struggle  and  its  adolescent  period  signs  were 
not  wanting  of  some  degree  of  introspection  to  ascertain 
what  was  the  plan  of  God  in  bringing  our  people  to  these 
shores,  and  what  His  purpose  was  in  enabling  them  to 
form  a  separate  regiment  of  God’s  army — things  of  this 
sort  were  evidently  not  very  clear  to  most  of  our  forebears. 

But  at  the  opening  of  the  period  here  outlined,  we 
notice  several  attempts  at  reaching  a  clear  conception  of 
the  denominational  task.  Since,  as  we  stated  in  Chapter  II, 
§9,  the  pluriformity  of  the  Church  entails  some  kind  of 
a  distinctive  mission  and  specific  contribution,  we  shall 
try  to  define  it  here  before  taking  up  the  various  detailed 


120 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


activities  of  the  Church  which,  to  some  extent,  are  or  at 
least  should  be,  attempts  to  carry  out  that  calling. 

It  should  be  needless  to  remind  ourselves  of  the  fact 
that  as  a  part  of  the  Church  universal,  it  is  the  task  of  the 
Christian  Reformed  denomination  to  devote  itself,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  the  other  manifestations  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
God’s  royal  priesthood :  to  show  forth  the  excellencies  of 
Him  who  calls  His  people  out  of  darkness  into  His  mar¬ 
velous  light  (1  Peter  2:9).  The  Church  is  not  simply  to 
be  a  gathering  of  believers,  looking  to  Christ  for  salva¬ 
tion,  but  a  mother  of  believers  as  well,  a  prophetic  witness 
for  Christ  and  His  Word,  a  priestly  dispenser  of  charity, 
and  royally  striving  that  Christ  everywhere  may  be 
crowned  king  of  all  domains  of  life. 

That  attempts  have  been  made  and  are  being  made  to 
do  its  share  of  that  great  work,  is  evident  not  alone  from 
what  we  already  named  in  previous  Chapters,  but  espe¬ 
cially  from  the  next  Chapter  on  the  educational  institu¬ 
tions  of  the  Church,  and  Chapter  VII  on  missions.  But 
besides  this,  there  were,  as  we  stated,  endeavors  made  to 
formulate  the  special  mission  of  the  denomination,  and  to 
define  the  contribution  it  could  be  expected  to  make  as 
such. 

The  Rev.  E.  Breen,  a  man  of  vision  and  loyalty,  who 
died  in  1921,  after  thirty-two  years  of  consecrated  minis¬ 
terial  service,  was  one  of  the  first  to  voice  what  others  had 
sensed  before  him.  He  stated  to  the  Synod  of  1906  that 
God’s  purpose  in  bringing  us  here  was  that,  with  our 
peculiar  Dutch  character  and  our  Calvinistic  principles, 
we  were  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  religious  and  moral  life  of 
our  nation. 

Particularly  the  Rev.  J.  Groen,  in  his  semi-centennial 
oration  ( Gedenkboek ,  p.  213  ff.),  outlined  “Our  Calling 
and  Ideals  for  the  Future.”  They  were  determined,  he  said, 
first,  by  our  being  a  Church,  a  part  of  the  one,  visible,  insti¬ 
tuted,  militant  Church;  second,  by  our  national  descent; 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


121 


third,  by  our  Reformed  principles;  fourth,  by  our  history, 
and  last  by  the  special  religious  needs  of  our  country  at 
the  present  time.  Theologically  we  were  to  maintain  and 
develop  our  Reformed  principles,  without  schismatically 
condemning  everything  outside  of  us.  We  were  to  labor 
with  might  and  main  to  extend  our  Church,  striving  to 
bring  about  union  with  others,  especially  with  brethren 
of  Dutch  blood  and  Reformed  origin.  The  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  Word  and  the  Sacraments  was  to  be  empha¬ 
sized  instead  of  losing  ourselves  in  all  kinds  of  “institu¬ 
tional”  church  work.  Rut  in  all  domains  of  life  we  should 
allow  the  light  of  the  Word  to  fall,  and  particularly  the 
cause  of  missions,  according  to  our  principles,  should 
never  be  forgotten.  “Churches  upholding  such  things,  our 
country  needs,  as  the  hope  of  the  nation.  .  .  .And  although 
our  Church  is  young,  small,  and  weak,  our  principles  are 
old,  tried,  and  strong,  and  in  every  way  up-to-date. 
Through  God  we  shall  do  valiantly.  If  we  remain  faith¬ 
ful  to  the  principles  we  inherited  from  our  fathers,  in  the 
face  of  both  liberalism  and  narrow  sectarianism,  if  we 
labor  diligently  and  persistently  to  defend  and  develop 
Calvinism, ...  .then  we  shall  not  alone  be  a  blessing  to 
ourselves,  to  our  children,  to  our  people  of  Dutch  descent, 
but  to  this  entire  great,  growing  nation  which  already  was 
a  rich  blessing  to  the  world,  and  will  be  still  more,  if  it 
maintains  righteousness  which  exalts  a  people”. 

In  a  similar  spirit  wrote  Prof.  F.  M.  Ten  Hoor  in  De 
Gereformecrde  Amerikacin,  and  B.  K.  Kuiper  in  Ons  Op- 
maken  en  Bouwen. 

That  such  visions  were  seen  and  voiced  indeed  proves 
the  arrival  of  manhood’s  period.  How  much  of  this  has 
been  realized  as  to  education  and  missions,  the  two  follow¬ 
ing  Chapters  show. 


122 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§9.  AS  OTHERS  SEE  US 

Coming  to  the  close  of  the  history  of  the  denomination 
as  a  whole,  and  before  taking  up  other  matters,  we  may 
well  pause  a  moment  to  face  the  questions  put  at  the  close 
of  Chapter  I :  “Would  these  pioneers  and  their  posterity 
reach  these  objectives,  (as  to  education  and  mission 
work),  and  remain  loyal  to  the  principles  of  the  Seces¬ 
sion  people?”  God  knows,  and  history  shows  how  far  be¬ 
low  the  ideal  we  still  are,  as  God’s  Church  in  its  militant 
state  in  a  fallen  world  ever  will  be.  But  that  at  least  some¬ 
thing  of  the  ideals  has  been  realized  and  principles  are 
still  adhered  to,  is  indicated  by  the  testimony  of  three 
outsiders — writers  who  have  not  been  afraid  of  criticizing 
us  at  times.  Dr.  H.  E.  Dosker,  in  his  Church  History ,  pub¬ 
lished  in  1901,  spoke  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  as 
“boundlessly  zealous,  thoroughly  conservative,  and  a  very 
active  factor  in  the  development  of  the  western  portion  of 
Reformed  Church-life”.  In  the  edition  of  1913,  he  sub¬ 
stituted  “Calvinistic”  for  conservative,  but  repeated  the 
rest  of  the  laudatory  phrases  unchanged.  The  Leader  of 
July  3,  1918,  testified  about  our  people:  “They  have  zeal, 
conviction,  solidarity,  a  definite  group-consciousness, 
leadership,  and  as  a  leaven  working  where  the  meal  is, 
they  may  count  for  more  than  in  the  past”.  And  even  the 
author  of  Landmarks  of  the  Reformed  Fathers,  who  so 
bitterly  attacked  our  pioneers  and  their  work,  as  Chapter 
II  showed,  speaks  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of 
today  as  “far  superior  to  what  the  “True  Church”,  as  she 
once  called  herself,  was  in  1870.  She  is  no  longer  seceded 
from  all  other  Protestant  denominations;  and  her  active 
churches,  her  many  excellent  pastors  and  teachers,  her 
piety  and  great  sacrifice  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  entitle  her 
to  a  place  among  the  churches  of  the  Reformation”. 
Soli  Deo  Gloria. 


EARLY  MANHOOD’S  VIGOR  AND  STRIFE 


123 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  can  you  say  about  the  church  extension  from  1900  to 
1920? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  a  “strengthened  ministry”? 

3.  In  which  states  did  the  American  element  grow  the  most? 

4.  What  can  you  say  about  the  increase  in  financial  and  per¬ 
sonal  offerings  for  the  Kingdom? 

5.  Which  “new  connections”  were  made  during  this  period? 

6.  What  can  you  say  about  the  influence  of  Drs.  A.  Kuyper  and 

H.  Bavinck,  the  points  involved  in  the  “Utrecht  Conclu¬ 
sions”,  and  the  changing  of  Art.  36  of  the  Confession? 

7.  What  do  you  know  of  the  “Baptized  Membership  question”, 
and  why  did  Synod  take  a  decided  stand  on  it? 

8.  What  do  you  know  about  the  Labor  Union  Problem? 

9.  Which  two  points  were  the  main  bone  of  contention  in  the 
“Maranatha”  case? 

10.  What  did  the  Revs.  Breen  and  Groen  state  about  our 
calling? 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

“Gedenkboek”,  Rev.  J.  Groen  on  “Onze  Roeping  en  Idealen”, 
page  213  ff,  and  G.  Kuiper,  “The  Mission  of  Our  Church 
from  a  Member’s  Point  of  View”,  page  239  ff.  Prof.  F.  M. 
Ten  Hoor,  articles  on  “Amerikanisatie”  in  “De  Gereformeerde 
Amerikaan”,  particularly  Vol.  XIII. 

B.  K.  Kuiper,  “Ons  Opmaken  en  Bouwen”,  in  English  in  “The 
Banner”  of  1911 — 1914,  especially  “Our  Task”,  “The  Banner, 
May  8,  1913— June  11,  1914. 

“Unionism  and  Unions”,  by  a  Comm,  of  the  Chr.  Ref.  Church. 
Published  by  order  of  Synod,  1902. 


CHAPTER  VI 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  LEARNING:  THE  THEOLOGICAL 
SCHOOL  AND  KINDRED  INSTITUTIONS;  THE 
CHRISTIAN  PRIMARY  SCHOOL 


Introductory:  Why  a  Theological  School?  §1.  The  Theological 
School  During  the  Period  of  Struggle.  §2.  The  Theological 
School  from  1880—1900.  §3.  The  School  from  1900  to  1923. 

Calvin  College.  §4.  The  Seminary.  §5.  Kindred  Educational 
Institutions.  §6.  The  Christian  Primary  School. 

INTRODUCTORY 

WHY  SHOULD  a  denomination  open  and  support  a 
School  devoted  to  the  training  of  its  ministry?  It  is 
a  costly  undertaking.  It  takes  men  away  from  the  regular 
work  of  the  pastorate.  It  demands  that  those  who  feel 
called  to  serve  in  the  Gospel  spend  precious  years  of  prep¬ 
aration.  When  God  really  calls  men  to  His  work,  as 
Elisha  of  old  was  called,  why  not  depend  upon  the  imme¬ 
diate  illuminating  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  equip  one  for 
service?  So  many  have  spoken  in  the  past,  and  even  in 
the  present  there  are  churches  which  look  with  disdain 
upon  “servants  of  the  letter”,  prepared  in  what  have  de¬ 
risively  been  called  “preachers’  factories”.  That  never¬ 
theless  the  great  Churches  of  Christendom  insist  on  a 
regular  educational  training  has  some  good  reasons  back 
of  it.  Not  that  it  is  denied  that  a  God  of  free  and  sov¬ 
ereign  grace  is  not  able  to  call  a  man  immediately  from 
his  secular  work  and  make  him  serve  acceptably  in  His 
vineyard.  There  are  exceptions  to  every  rule.  Some  men 
are  auto-didact — that  is,  self-taught  so  to  speak,  because 
of  unusual  talent.  But  the  rule  is — preparation  for  life- 
work  by  means  of  regular  instruction.  The  Church  of 
God  needs  well-equipped  men.  The  Church,  through  its 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


125 


ministers,  is  the  chosen  instrument  to  have  God’s  King¬ 
dom  come.  An  instrument  must  be  well-made.  The  min¬ 
ister  is  the  sower  of  God’s  truth.  Sowing  requires  prep¬ 
aration.  To  the  Church  have  been  committed  the  oracles 
of  God.  To  explain  them  needs  a  well-trained  mind.  The 
Church  is  set  for  the  defense  of  the  Gospel.  That  also  de¬ 
mands  education.  It  is  called  a  pillar  of  truth.  That  also 
presupposes  the  right  presentation,  so  that  even  those  who 
run  may  read  the  proclamation  affixed  to  that  pillar. 

Because  of  these  and  still  other  reasons  which  could  be 
named,  the  Church  of  our  Fathers  across  the  sea  insisted 
on  a  well-trained  ministry.  This  was  maintained  over 
against  the  Anabaptists  of  the  Reformation  period,  who 
despised  human  learning,  ostensibly  depending  on  the 
immediate  illuminating  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  over 
against  Roman  Catholicism  which  had  exalted  the  sacra¬ 
ment  above  the  Word.  While  the  Roman  Church  through¬ 
out  centuries  could  boast  of  eminent  scholars,  the  rank 
and  file  of  its  clergy  during  the  Middle  Ages  and  later, 
were  but  poorly  educated.  For  that  matter,  one  needed 
not  to  be  learned  to  read  certain  forms  and  to  perform 
stated  ceremonies.  A  little  Latin  sufficed.  But  the  Re¬ 
formed  principle  demanded  that  the  pastor  should  first  of 
all  be  a  minister  of  the  Word,  able  to  intelligently  ex¬ 
pound  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  to  refute  those  who  pro¬ 
posed  heresies  contrary  to  the  Bible.  To  train  such  a  min¬ 
istry  required  educational  activity,  even  as  our  Lord  Him¬ 
self,  for  the  space  of  three  years,  had  trained  His  disciples 
to  become  His  apostles.  Paul,  himself  a  splendidly  edu¬ 
cated  man,  had  enjoined  Timothy:  “The  things  which 
thou  hast  heard  from  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same 
commit  thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach 
others  also”.  In  harmony  with  this  apostolic  injunction, 
in  the  course  of  time,  Theological  Schools  had  been 
opened  in  Alexandria,  and  Antioch,  and  other  places 
around  the  Mediterranean,  during  the  early  Christian  cen- 


126  THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 

turies.  During  the  Middle  Ages  theology  was  taught  as 
part  of  the  curriculum  of  the  Universities  of  the  Old 
World.  And  one  of  the  first  things  the  founders  of  the 
Dutch  Republic  did  was  to  open  higher  institutions  of 
learning  at  Leyden  and  elsewhere.  Scarcely  had  the  Se¬ 
cession  of  Holland  started  when  its  ministers,  university 
men  themselves,  began  to  train  some  of  their  most  prom¬ 
ising  followers,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  At  first  this 
took  place  in  various  provinces,  but  in  1854  it  was  amal¬ 
gamated  and  centered  in  the  Theological  School  opened 
that  year  in  the  city  of  Kampen. 

§1.  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SCHOOL  DURING  THE  PERIOD 

OF  STRUGGLE 

Since  the  ministers  of  the  Netherland  Church  fre¬ 
quently  were  loath  to  come  to  America  to  help  the  “Se- 
ceders”,  the  question  of  educating  their  own  clergy  came 
up  very  early  during  the  separate  denominational  life  of 
our  pioneers.  We  first  find  it  mentioned  in  1861.  Lack  of 
means,  however,  stood  in  the  way  of  doing  anything 
definite.  But  during  July,  1863,  at  the  motion  of  the  Rev. 
K.  Vanden  Bosch,  it  was  decided  to  take  the  matter  up. 
The  Rev.  W.  H.  Van  Leeuwen  consented  to  do  the  teach¬ 
ing.  Monthly  collections  were  to  be  taken  for  the  cause — 
the  beginning  of  the  “Ex  Bonis  Publicis  Fund” — which, 
as  a  rule,  loaned  $200  per  year  to  the  indigent  students. 
This  at  first  was  a  general  denominational  treasury.  Its 
old  name,  “out  of  the  Public  Funds”,  referred  to  church 
property  which  had  been  sequestrated  by  the  Dutch  gov¬ 
ernment.  Of  course,  the  title  is  a  misnomer  in  America. 
“Student  Fund”  or  “Students’  Aid  Fund”  would  be  a  far 
better  name.  Since  1888  the  various  Classes  maintain  their 
own  funds.  The  Rev.  Van  Leeuwen  trained  only  one  of  the 
early  ministers,  the  Rev.  J.  Schepers  already  named  in 
Chapter  III,  §4,  while  the  Rev.  J.  Noordewier  was  prepared 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


127 


for  the  ministry  by  the  Rev.  R.  Duiker,  at  one  time  pastor  of 
the  First  Church  of  Grand  Rapids.  All  the  other  men  or¬ 
dained  in  America  during  the  first  part  of  the  period  of 
struggle  were  educated  by  the  Rev.  D.  J.  Vander  Werp 
while  pastor  at  Graafschap,  1864 — 1872,  and  at  Muskegon 
from  1872 — 1876.  (See  Chapter  III,  §4.)  The  study  of  this 
able  and  consecrated  man  served  as  class-room.  Twice  a 
week  he  instructed  in  the  “Kern”  or  “Marrow  of  Divinity”, 
by  Rev.  A.  Francken  (Chapter  I,  §6),  and  in  various  other 
branches  of  theology,  history,  and  literature,  notably  in 
the  Dutch  language.  The  younger  “Nazarites”  were  also 
taught  the  rudiments  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  Since 
1871  the  course  of  the  students  who  took  up  the  “ancient 
languages”  was  six  years;  that  of  the  others  four.  It  was 
during  the  year  just  named  that  an  extraordinary  step  was 
taken.  Mr.  Wolter  Hellenthal,  born  in  1849  at  Fillmore, 
Mich.,  had,  with  the  consent  of  the  “True”  Church  to 
which  he  belonged,  finished  five  years  of  work  at  Hope 
College,  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  unusual  promise,  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
Student  Fund  was  sent  to  complete  his  studies  at  the  Karn- 
pen  School.  Alas,  already  a  few  weeks  after  his  arrival 
in  the  Netherlands,  he  died  of  smallpox,  October,  1871.  We 
presume  that  this  disappointing  experience  deterred  our 
pioneers  from  sending  others  across  the  ocean  and  was 
considered  a  hint  of  divine  Providence  indicating  that 
training  at  home  was  the  most  natural  as  well  as  the  less 
expensive  mode  of  procedure  in  the  case.  As  to  expense,  this 
was  preventing  the  opening  of  a  Theological  School  in  the 
sense  of  having  a  man  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  work 
of  teaching,  although  Rev.  Vander  Werp  brought  this  up 
repeatedly.  Like  Moses,  however,  while  he  caught  the 
vision  of  the  Promised  Land,  he  did  not  enter  it.  This 
privilege  was  accorded  to  his  Joshua,  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Roer, 
who  abundanlty  deserves  honorable  mention  here.  Rorn 
in  1832,  a  graduate  of  the  Kampen  Theological  School,  he 


128 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


in  1873,  while  pastor  at  Niezijl,  received  a  call  from  the 
First  Church  (Spring  Street)  of  Grand  Rapids,  then  the 
only  church  of  the  denomination  in  the  city.  After  ac¬ 
ceptance,  a  period  of  great  mental  distress  and  spiritual 
struggle  was  passed  through,  caused  by  fear  that  he  had 
made  a  mistake.  How  strangely  we  at  times  misjudge 
Divine  Providence!  In  America  God  would  make  his  life 
that  of  extensive  usefulness,  whereas  his  stay  in  Holland 
might  have  meant  no  wider  service  than  that  of  a  country 
pastor. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  his  arrival  here  the  Rev. 
Boer  became  a  leader  in  his  denomination.  His  fraternal 
relationship  to  Holland  brethren  of  the  Reformed  Church 
shocked  some  of  the  more  exclusive  “True”  people.  But 
his  zeal  for  missions,  for  Christian  primary  instruction, 
for  the  Christian  society  work  of  the  younger  element,  and 
his  advocacy  of  the  Sunday  school,  brought  a  new  spirit 
into  the  life  of  the  church,  not  alone  in  Grand  Rapids,  but 
throughout  the  denomination.  He  was  able  to  spread  his 
progressive  ideas  the  more  since  he  in  1875  was  placed  in 
charge  of  De  Wachter,  and  of  the  instruction  of  the  four 
students,  then  in  training  for  the  ministry,  the  fatal  illness 
of  the  Rev.  Vander  Werp  (cancer),  leading  to  this  transfer 
of  Elijah’s  mantle  to  Elisha.  The  next  year  Rev.  Boer  was 
chosen  as  the  first  “docent”  or  professor,  especially 
charged  with  the  work  of  preparing  men  for  the  sacred 
office.  His  salary  was  $1,300;  his  seminary  a  room  of  the 
second  floor  of  the  Christian  School  on  Williams  Street, 
now  the  property  of  the  Salvation  Army,  and  the  number 
of  students  was  very  limited  at  first.  But  there  was  bound¬ 
less  zeal,  splendid  bodily  vigor  (an  important  factor  in 
human  success),  a  proper  measure  of  self-confidence,  and 
daily  trust  in  Him  who  assures  of  strength  according  to 
our  days.  Prof.  Boer  rendered  yeoman’s  service.  He 
trained  men  remarkably  well-equipped  for  actual  service, 
considering  the  limited  curriculum  and  few  years,  at  the 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


129 


most  six,  which  each  man  spent  at  school.  His  praise 
ought  to  be  in  our  churches  as  long  as  they  endure,  even 
though  it  was  only  the  period  of  struggling  at  the  time, 
and  the  day  of  small  things. 

§2.  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SCHOOL  FROM  1880—1900 

But  a  new  day  dawned  as  the  period  of  adolescent 
growth  opened.  In  1880  recognition  of  the  institution  by 
the  State  of  Michigan  was  mentioned,  and  the  Curatorium, 
hitherto  numbering  four  regular  members  and  some  trus¬ 
tees,  was  enlarged  by  the  appointment  of  a  delegate  from 
each  Classis  to  assist  at  the  examinations. 

The  course  of  studies  was  augmented  when  the  Rev. 
G.  K.  Hemkes,  in  1882,  began  his  labors  at  the  Theological 
School.  Born  in  1838,  and  having  received  a  liberal  edu¬ 
cation  in  Holland,  he  had  come  to  America  in  1877  as  pas¬ 
tor  of  the  Vriesland  church.  As  writer,  while  still  in 
Europe,  and  later  in  America,  as  editor  of  De  Wachter 
and  author  of  several  books,  particularly  on  Adventism 
and  on  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  (Rechtsbestaan) , 
he  wielded  a  facile  pen.  He  proved  to  be  a  valuable  co- 
wTorker  with  Prof.  Boer.  Prof.  Hemkes  continued  in  the 
professorate  till  1908.  He  died  in  1920,  sixteen  years  after 
his  tried  yoke-fellow,  Prof.  Boer,  had  suddenly  been  called 
to  his  reward. 

But  while  both  of  the  men  named  rendered  splendid 
service,  such  was  especially  the  case  with  Dr.  Geerhardus 
Vos,  who  serv  ed  the  Theological  School  as  professor  from 
1885  till  1893,  an  altogether  too  brief  period,  but  one  of 
great  value  to  the  institution.  His  work  brought  not  alone 
the  English  language  to  prominence  in  the  School,  but  par¬ 
ticularly  a  broadening,  renovating  and  deepening  of  the 
courses  of  instruction.  Those  who  were  fortunate  enough 
to  sit  at  his  feet  will  ever  be  grateful  to  this  splendid 
scholar  whose  departure  for  Princeton  Seminary,  already 
alluded  to  in  a  previous  Chapter,  was  keenly  regretted. 


130 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Before  Dr.  Vos  bade  farewell  to  the  Grand  Rapids  insti¬ 
tution,  new  quarters  for  it  had  been  erected,  at  the  corner 
of  Madison  Avenue  and  Franklin  Street,  dedicated  in  1892, 
a  fine  edifice.  The  funds  for  it  were  obtained  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Rev.  J.  Noordewier,  who  went 
up  and  down  the  denominational  territory  for  this 
purpose. 

Three  years  later  it  was  shown  that  English  was  indeed 
rapidly  obtaining  a  place  of  prominence,  since  in  1896  the 
first  Catalogue  of  the  institution  was  published  in  the 
American  language.  In  the  issue  of  this  Annual  for  1899 
1900  it  was  stated  that  the  Theological  department  was  in 
charge  of  three  professors,  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Boer,  teaching 
hermeneutics,  Biblical  history  and  natural  theology;  Rev. 
G.  K.  Hemkes,  professor  of  Biblical  languages  and  litera¬ 
ture,  church  history  and  Christian  ethics;  and  Rev.  H.  Beu- 
ker,  professor  of  archaeology,  exegesis,  dogmatics,  homi¬ 
letics,  church  government,  symbolics,  liturgies,  poimenics, 
and  catechetics.  These  men  also  instructed  in  the  Liter¬ 
ary  Department,  which  since  1894  had  two  men  on  its  staff 
for  this  special  work,  Profs.  A.  J.  Rooks  and  K.  School- 
land.  Alas,  already  in  the  spring  of  1900  Prof.  H.  Beuker 
died  suddenly.  He  also  had  proven  to  be  a  man  of  God, 
not  alone  in  the  Netherlands,  where  he  held  prominent 
pastorates,  and  occupied  a  leading  place  in  the  councils  of 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  and  as  editor  of  De  Vrije 
Kerk,  but  here  also  as  professor,  since  1894.  He  had  also 
been  one  of  the  founders  of  De  Gereformeerde  Ameri- 
kcian,  referred  to  in  another  connection. 

The  adolescent  growth  of  the  period  applied  to  the 
School,  not  alone  as  to  faculty  and  curriculum,  but  also 
as  to  numbers  of  students.  While  in  1880  there  was  a 
total  enrollment  of  10,  in  1900  there  were  72  students. 
From  1877  to  1900,  inclusive,  ninety-four  clergymen  had 
gone  forth  from  the  institution  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  of 
free  grace. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


131 


§3.  THE  SCHOOL  FROM  1900—1923.  “CALVIN  COLLEGE” 

That  the  new  era  of  the  young  manhood  can  be  dated 
from  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  is  evident 
also  in  the  history  of  the  School  here  described.  The 
Catalogue  for  1899 — 1900  still  spoke  of  “The  Christian 
Reformed  Theological  Seminary”  as  “an  Institution  of 
Learning,  designed  with  the  aid  of  Almighty  God,  to  form 
men  for  the  gospel  ministry.  Hence,  the  School,  in  both 
departments,  has  been  organized  with  direct  reference  to 
this  end.  . .  .The  regular  course  involves  seven  years;  four 
years  are  devoted  to  the  Preparatory  studies  and  three 
years  to  the  Theological  work.  In  the  Literary  Depart¬ 
ment,  a  thorough  classical  and  historical  course  is  af¬ 
forded.  The  Holland  language  is  the  principal  language 
of  the  Church  which  the  School  represents;  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  no  pains  are  spared  to  make  the  students  well- 
versed  in  it.  Besides,  English,  the  language  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  German,  the  language  of  a  large  field  in  the  West, 
find  prominent  places  in  the  curriculum.” 

But  a  different  note  is  struck  in  the  Catalogue  for 
1900—1901.  While  it  is  stated  that  the  Theological  School 
had  as  its  primary  object  the  training  of  men  for  the  gos¬ 
pel  ministry,  “in  the  Preparatory  Department  instruction 
is  also  given  in  those  additional  branches  which  are 
needed  for  university  and  college  entrance,  and  for  ob¬ 
taining  various  teachers’  certificates”.  Three  courses  were 
offered :  a  Theological,  a  Classical,  and  a  Scientific 

Course.  For  the  first  time  we  find  an  article  on  “Our  Fun¬ 
damental  Principle ”.  Manhood’s  definition  of  principle 
manifests  itself.  Listen  to  the  ringing  sentences:  “We  take 
pride  in  declaring  emphatically ....  that  in  our  Theolog¬ 
ical  School,  consciously  and  from  firm  conviction,  the  Re¬ 
formed  Theology  is  zealously  championed,  strongly  de¬ 
fended,  and  consequently  represented  according  to  abil¬ 
ity.  This  is  deemed  necessary  especially  in  this  country, 


132 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


where,  owing  to  lack  of  principle,  subjective  ideas  and 
changing  views  abound.  Furthermore,  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  these  same  principles,  which  in  the  wide  do¬ 
main  of  the  general  sciences  are  characterized  by  the  term 
Calvinism ,  give  to  the  educational  work  and  scholarship 
of  the  School  its  meaning  and  force  not  only,  but  also  its 
very  reason  of  existence.” 

It  was  a  resolution  of  the  1900  Synod  which  had 
opened  the  School  for  students  aiming  at  other  vocations 
than  the  ministry,  and  the  Annual  for  1902 — 1903  dis¬ 
plays  the  fact  that  women  had  been  enrolled  as  well  as 
men.  Again  we  find  the  scope  of  the  institution  enlarged 
as  the  Catalogue  for  1906 — 1907  announces  itself  as  the 
“Yearbook  of  the  John  Calvin  Junior-College  and  Theo¬ 
logical  School”,  called,  “Institutions  of  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church”.  We  read:  “According  to  the  constitu¬ 
tion  all  instruction  given  must  be  in  harmony  with  ‘Re¬ 
formed  Principles.’  The  various  branches  of  study,  there¬ 
fore,  are  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  faith  and  in 
the  light  of  Calvinism  as  a  life-  and  world-view.  Herein 
lies  the  distinctive  character  of  our  College”.  Of  the  six 
years’  course  offered  in  what  was  formerly  called  the  Lit¬ 
erary  Department,  the  first  four  years  were  in  a  general 
way  the  equivalent  of  a  high  school  or  academy,  and  the 
last  two,  making  the  Junior  College,  were  the  Freshmen 
and  Sophomore  classes  of  a  complete  College. 

The  name  “John  Calvin  Junior  College”  persists  to 
appear  on  the  title-pages  of  the  “Yearbooks”  until  the 
Annual  for  1908 — 1909  speaks  of  “Calvin  College”,  the 
Synod  of  the  first  named  year  having  determined  to  take 
steps  looking  toward  the  establishment  of  a  four-year 
College  course,  by  1910.  But  it  proved  to  be  easier  to  “take 
steps”  than  to  reach  the  goal.  It  took  additional  men  as 
well  as  greatly  increased  laboratories  and  more  roomy 
quarters  as  well.  Happily,  the  last  named  desideratum 
was  obtained  when  in  September,  1917,  a  splendid  struc- 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


133 


ture  could  be  dedicated  on  the  twelve-acre  campus  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Grand  Rapids,  a  building  erected  at  a 
cost  of  $150,000,  an  imposing  edifice,  constructed  of  re¬ 
inforced  concrete,  and  brick  veneer,  thoroughly  modern, 
provided  with  the  best  equipment  for  lighting,  heating, 
and  ventilation.  The  teachers’  staff  had  meanwhile  been 
increased  so  that  the  Yearbook  for  1923  could  give  a  Col¬ 
lege  faculty  of  twenty,  headed  by  the  Rev.  John  J.  Hie- 
menga,  A.M.,  R.D.,  as  president.  The  appointment  of  a 
president  as  the  permanent  head  of  the  College,  instead 
of  having  a  “rector”  in  annual  rotation,  had  been  advo¬ 
cated  repeatedly  in  The  Banner ,  but  it  was  not  until  1919 
that  the  office  was  created.  The  president’s  duties  were 
outlined  as  those  of  the  executive  officer  of  Calvin  College, 
propagating  our  principles,  promoting  the  School’s  finan¬ 
cial  interests,  representing  it  in  all  its  external  relations, 
furthering  the  educational  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
student-body,  and  shaping  the  educational  policy  of  the 
institution.  In  the  “Educational  Program”  which  Presi¬ 
dent  Hiemenga  published  ( The  Banner ,  Nov.  13,  1919),  he 
stated  that  his  ideals  were  the  opening  of  a  Christian  High 
School  in  Grand  Rapids  under  separate  auspices.  “Cal¬ 
vin”  was  to  be  the  center  of  the  higher  education  of  insti- 
tions  of  learning  among  our  people,  offering  a  full  Sem¬ 
inary,  Preparatory,  Classical,  Modern  Classical  and  Nor¬ 
mal  Course.  With  respect  to  the  development  of  the  Col¬ 
lege,  he  stated  in  1922  that  this  should  be  guided  by  three 
considerations.  The  first  is  to  follow  the  historical  line 
pointed  out  by  our  churches  since  1900,  that  is,  that  Calvin 
College  should,  in  course  of  time,  become  the  property  of 
a  society  for  higher  education,  aiming  ultimately  at  a 
“Calvin  University”.  Secondly,  the  peculiar  Calvinistic 
characteristics,  convictions,  and  responsibility  should  ever 
be  kept  in  mind  in  the  instruction  given,  permeating  it,  so 
that  we  may  be  a  salt  and  a  leaven  to  our  nation.  Thirdly, 
in  view  of  our  peculiar  times  and  special  needs,  our  edu- 


134 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


cation  should  emphasize  natural  science,  particularly  biol¬ 
ogy,  to  combat  the  tremendous  influence  of  present-day 
theories  of  evolution,  in  fundamental  opposition  to  our 
life-  and  world-view,  and  furthermore  philosophy,  sociol¬ 
ogy,  history,  education,  and  missions.  Progress  in  the  di¬ 
rection  given,  is  made  right  along  under  President  Hie- 
menga’s  leadership.  Early  in  1923  he  could  report  that 
Calvin  College  was  not  only  offering  a  complete  two  years’ 
Normal  Course,  but  that  the  Michigan  authorities  had  as¬ 
sured  him  that  those  who  completed  that  course  would 
receive  State  life  certificates.  A  campaign  for  some 
$100,000  for  a  dormitory  was  begun  publicly  at  about  the 
same  time  the  above  announcement  was  made  and  was 
successful.  A  campaign  for  a  million  dollars  for  educa¬ 
tional  purposes,  approved  of  by  the  1920  Synod,  has,  how¬ 
ever,  been  suspended  till  more  prosperous  times  arrive. 
Well-  earned  tribute  should  be  brought  here  to  the  Rev.  J. 
Vander  Mey,  who  since  1913  acts  as  Educational  Secretary, 
traveling  everywhere  to  obtain  funds  for  “Calvin”.  Up  to 
1922  he  had  collected  in  cash  and  pledges,  for  College  and 
Seminary,  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars.  Such 
figures,  obtained  mostly  in  small  sums,  speak  volumes 
in  praise  of  this  brother  who  shows  a  happy  combination 
of  Christian  consecration  and  Friesian  persistence. 

§4.  THE  SEMINARY 

By  this  we  understand  at  present  the  theological  depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Grand  Rapids  institution,  whose  history  we 
are  tracing  here.  Rs  progress  has  not  kept  pace  with  the 
development  of  Calvin  College,  which,  as  our  readers 
saw,  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Literary  Department  of  the 
old  Theological  School.  There  was  some  growth  in  the 
Seminary,  however.  In  1900,  as  we  noted  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  this  Chapter,  there  were  only  three  men  who  were 
teaching  specifically  theological  branches.  They  were: 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


135 


Rev.  Geert  E.  Boer,  Professor  of  Hermeneutics,  Natural 
Theology,  Biblical  History,  etc.;  Rev.  Geert  K.  Hemkes, 
Professor  of  Biblical  Languages  and  Literature,  Church 
History,  etc.;  Rev.  Foppe  M.  Ten  Hoor,  Professor  of  Dog¬ 
matics,  Exegesis,  etc.  The  Synod  of  1902,  however,  created 
a  fourth  chair,  occupied  by  Dr.  R.  Janssen,  Professor  of 
Exegetical  Theology;  while  Rev.  W.  Heyns  was  chosen  as 
Professor  of  Practical  Theology.  Prof.  Boer  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Library  and  Archives.  But  it  was  not  till 
1914  that  a  fifth  Professorate  was  created.  The  faculty 
then  was  composed  of  Rev.  Gerrit  K.  Hemkes,  Professor 
Emeritus  of  Church  History;  Rev.  Foppe  M.  Ten  Hoor, 
Professor  of  Systematic  Theology;  Rev.  William  Heyns, 
Professor  of  Practical  Theology;  Rev.  Louis  Berkhof,  B.D., 
Professor  of  Exegetical  Theology,  New  Testament;  Rev. 
Samuel  Volbeda,  Th.D.,  Professor  of  Historical  Theology; 
Ralph  Janssen,  Ph.D.,  Theol.  Doct’s.,  Professor  of  Exe¬ 
getical  Theology,  Old  Testament. 

With  Calvin  College  having  all  in  all  a  faculty  of  some 
twenty  persons,  it  seems  out  of  proportion  that  the  Sem¬ 
inary  should  have  to  content  itself  with  a  staff  of  only 
five  professors.  This  paucity  in  number  of  teachers  is 
still  more  unsatisfactory  when  we  compare  it  with  the 
teaching  staff  of  other  Seminaries  in  our  land,  enrolling 
about  the  same  number  of  students.  The  United  Presby¬ 
terian  Seminary  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  for  instance,  reports  a 
faculty  of  eleven  members.  The  Louisville,  Ky.,  Presby¬ 
terian  Seminary,  has  eight  professors,  and  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  Presbyterian,  eleven. 

The  Library  situation  also  is  unfavorable  compared  to 
what  other  Seminaries  in  our  country  have.  The  Western 
Theological  Seminary  at  Holland,  Mich.,  has  as  many  as 
11,500  volumes  in  its  Library,  while  Hope  College,  nearby, 
possesses  23,000  bound  volumes.  But  our  Seminary  and 
College  combined,  in  1923,  reported  only  7,600  volumes. 


136 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


There  is  outlook,  however,  that  the  condition  will  be  im¬ 
proved  slowly  on. 

The  increase  of  the  courses  in  the  Seminary  has  not 
kept  pace  with  the  increase  in  various  branches  of  study 
in  Calvin  College.  There  is  notably  a  lack  of  instruction 
in  apologetics;  the  history,  science,  principles,  and  meth¬ 
ods  of  missions;  the  history  of  religion;  comparative  re¬ 
ligion;  and  the  study  of  the  English  Bible,  while  sociol¬ 
ogy  and  religious  education  are  also  absent  from  the  cur¬ 
riculum,  althought  taught  in  practically  every  other  Pres¬ 
byterian  and  Reformed  Seminary  in  our  country. 

The  Seminary  is  also  in  need  of  a  building  of  its  owu. 
At  the  present  time  it  is  practically  dwelling  as  a  sojourner 
in  the  edifice  which  has  been  fitted  up  for  College  pur¬ 
poses.  No  doubt  the  appointment  of  a  president  who 
would  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  institution  would  be 
instrumental  toward  greatly  improving  the  situation.  Our 
people  love  our  Seminary  and  will  be  glad  to  come  to  its 
aid  if  appealed  to  properly,  so  that  it  may  be  brought  and 
kept  up-to-date  as  to  branches  and  methods  of  study, 
while  at  the  same  time  remaining  loyal  to  the  great  doc¬ 
trines  of  the  Reformed  Church,  equipping  men  as  ef¬ 
ficiently  as  possible,  to  preach  an  unchangeable  Gospel  to 
an  ever-changing  age. 

§5.  KINDRED  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS 

We  speak  of  issus  de  Calvin ,  that  is,  Calvin’s  offspring 
in  a  spiritual  sense,  people  perpetuating  and  developing 
his  principles.  Calvin  College  in  Grand  Rapids  also  has 
its  scions  in  the  educational  world,  not  alone  in  its  gradu¬ 
ates,  but  in  the  shape  of  institutions  patterned  after  it, 
imbued  with  the  same  motives,  holding  up  before  the 
world  the  same  high  ideals.  None  of  these,  however,  is 
officially  connected  with  the  denomination.  They  are  all 
supported  by  independent  societies  whose  membership  is 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


137 


open  to  people  of  the  Calvinistic  persuasion  other  than 
Christian  Reformed.  But  since  the  membership  of  these 
organizations,  their  faculties  and  students,  are  still  so 
overwhelmingly  belonging  to  the  denomination  whose 
history  is  discussed  here,  some  space  ought  to  be  given 
them. 

The  oldest  of  these  kindred  institutions  is  Grundy  Col¬ 
lege,  in  Grundy  Center,  Iowa,  largely  the  fruit  of  the 
prayer,  the  planning  and  the  persistence  of  one  conse¬ 
crated  man,  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  Bode.  Decades  ago,  the  Rev. 

C.  Bode  and  others  had  been  pleading  for  a  School  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  the  educational  needs  of  the  German  element  of 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church  (Chapter  IV,  §4).  At 
God’s  own  good  time  Rev.  Bode’s  eldest  son  was  allowed 
to  rear  the  structure  his  father  had  longed  to  see  erected. 
October  4, 1916,  Grundy  College  was  opened.  Its  first  fac¬ 
ulty  was  composed  of  the  Revs.  W.  Bode,  J.  Timmermann, 

D.  H.  Kromminga,  A.  Clevering,  L.  King,  and  M.  Schulte. 
The  enrollment  in  1922,  of  nearly  one  hundred  students, 
speaks  of  growing  initial  success.  Grundy  College’s  edu¬ 
cation  is  based  on  Reformed  principles,  and  aims  to  edu¬ 
cate  ministers,  teachers,  and  others. 

Western  Academy,  opened  September,  1919,  is  build¬ 
ing  on  the  same  platform.  Located  at  Hull,  Iowa,  its  first 
faculty  was  composed  of  Garrett  Heyns,  A.M.,  as  principal 
and  Herman  Wyngaarden,  A.B.  Annual  income,  $12,000; 
number  of  students  approximately  100.  It  is  aimed  to  de¬ 
velop  a  thorough  course  of  normal  training  for  the  benefit 
of  prospective  teachers  in  the  Christian  Primary  Schools, 
and  in  general  to  provide  a  secondary  education  that 
stands  second  to  none. 

Within  three  years  four  Christian  High  Schools  were 
opened  in  as  many  cities.  The  Chicago  Christian  High 
School  is  the  oldest  of  these,  dating  from  September,  1918, 
and  located  in  Englewood.  First  faculty  Mr.  M.  Fak- 


138 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


kema  and  Miss  C.  Rooks.  Income,  $9,000.  Enrollment, 
1922,  116. 

The  Paterson  Christian  High  School  followed,  opening 
its  doors,  September,  1919.  First  faculty,  J.  B.  Schoolland 
and  G.  Bos.  Annual  income,  $5,000.  Students  enrolled,  25. 

The  Grand  Rapids  Christian  High  School  dates  from 
September,  1920.  Its  home  is  the  former  Theological 
School  building,  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Franklin 
Street,  purchased  for  $20,000.  Its  first  faculty  numbered 
ten  teachers,  under  F.  J.  Driessens  as  principal.  The  en¬ 
rollment,  March,  1922,  was  360.  Annual  income,  $45,000. 

The  Holland  Christian  High  School  is  as  old  as  its 
Grand  Rapids  sister  institution.  Its  first  faculty  was  com¬ 
posed  of  Principal  H.  Dekker,  and  E.  Wolters  and  J.  Jel- 
lema.  All  of  these  institutions  aim  at  secondary  educa¬ 
tion:  “based  on  the  Word  of  God,  as  interpreted  by  the 
doctrinal  standards  of  the  Reformed  Churches”. 

A  Missionary  Training  School  was  opened  in  February, 
1921,  in  Chicago,  Ill.,  at  first  teaching  only  evening  classes, 
the  faculty  composed  of  Revs.  E.  J.  Tuuk  and  P.  D.  Van 
Vliet,  and  the  Messrs.  M.  Fakkema  and  J.  Vande  Water. 
Its  principal  purpose  at  present  is  the  training  of  lay- 
workers  for  City  Mission  activity. 

A  Normal  School ,  opened  in  Grand  Rapids  in  1919,  en¬ 
joyed  only  a  brief  existence  of  two  years,  under  the  prin- 
cipalship  of  B.  K.  Kuiper,  but  its  ideals,  though  dormant 
for  the  time  being,  are  sure  to  be  realized  sooner  or  later. 

§6.  THE  CHRISTIAN  PRIMARY  SCHOOL 

Not  alone  secondary  and  higher  education  was  the 
object  of  the  fostering  care  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church — also  primary  school  instruction.  As  we  noted  in 
Chapter  I,  §8,  one  of  the  objectives  of  our  pioneers  for 
coming  to  America  was  the  education  of  their  children  in 
Christian  schools,  “a  privilege  that  we  lack  here  [in  the 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


139 


Netherlands]  since  in  the  public  schools  a  general  moral 
instruction  is  given  which  may  offend  neither  Jew  nor 
Romanist,  while  free  schools  are  barred”.  True  to  this 
ideal,  in  the  Scholte  Colony  in  Iowa,  we  find  already  dur¬ 
ing  the  early  months  after  Pella’s  founding,  Mr.  James 
Muntingh  converting  his  log  house  into  a  school-room, 
and  here,  for  three  years,  teaching  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic,  to  children  by  day,  and  to  others  at  night,  and 
by  candle-light.  He  taught  both  Dutch  a*nd  English.  Isaac 
Overkamp  was  the  first  teacher  of  the  township  school, 
a  highly  praised  instructor. 

Due  to  Rev.  Van  Raalte’s  urging  among  the  Pella  breth¬ 
ren,  a  school  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  Pella  was 
established  in  1861,  the  first  corps  of  teachers  being 
headed  by  Isaac  Overkamp.  But  alas,  by  February,  1867, 
the  school  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  for  the  space  of  forty- 
five  years  the  idea  remained  abandoned  in  so  far  as  Pella 
was  concerned. 

In  Roseland,  Ill.,  a  Christian  School  was  maintained 
from  1849,  and  during  many  years,  by  Peter  De  Jong,  well- 
known  leader  of  the  pioneer  band  there,  as  we  related  in 
Chapter  I,  §8.  De  Jong  was  born  near  Schoorl,  in  North 
Holland,  and  died  in  Roseland  at  a  ripe  old  age. 

In  Michigan,  also  mainly  through  Van  Raalte’s  ini¬ 
tiative,  Christian  education  was  stressed  at  first.  When 
Dr.  Wyckoff  (Chapter  II,  §4),  visited  the  Hollanders  there 
in  1849,  he  noted  that  “the  Colony  is  paying  as  much  atten¬ 
tion  as  possible  to  schools  and  Christian  education.  They 
have  a  Dutch  school  and  an  English  one  in  the  city  (Hol¬ 
land)  ;  at  Zeeland  a  Dutch  school,  and  will  soon  have  an 
English  school  and  all  the  rest  will  follow”.  Repeatedly 
Rev.  Van  Raalte  pleaded  for  the  cause.  Valuable  service 
was  rendered  by  pioneer  teachers  such  as  H.  Doesburg,  of 
Holland;  A.  J.  Hillebrands,  of  Groningen;  H.  De  Bruin,  of 
Zeeland;  Mr.  Berkenpas,  of  Vriesland;  Mr.  Nieuwendorp, 
of  Drenthe;  and  Mrs.  Rev.  Nykerk,  of  Overisel.  But  Dr. 


140 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED 


CHURCH 


Wyckoff’s  prediction  was  not  fulfilled.  While  those  who 
retained  their  connection  with  the  Reformed  Church  have 
displayed  commendable  zeal  as  to  Christian  secondary 
and  higher  education,  they  sadly  lost  sight  of  their  ideals 
concerning  primary  schools.  Not  so,  however,  those  who 
withdrew  in  1857.  The  Grand  Rapids  Church  maintained 
a  Christian  school  from  the  very  beginning  of  its  existence, 
and  the  Graafschap  consistory  as  early  as  April  20,  1857, 
took  the  matter  up.  By  1875  Christian  schools  existed  not 
alone  in  the  two  places  just  named,  but  also  in  Muskegon, 
Grand  Haven,  Kalamazoo,  and  South  Holland,  with  other 
places  contemplating  to  take  steps  in  the  direction  of 
carrying  out  the  declaration  of  the  General  Meeting  of 
1870,  stating  as  the  conviction  of  the  assembly  “that  the 
school  is  the  nursery  of  and  for  the  Church,  and  that  every 
congregation  was  called  to  open  a  free  school”.  The  Hol¬ 
land  language,  naturally,  was  stressed  at  first,  though 
there  are  evidences  that  the  English  was  not  entirely  neg¬ 
lected,  and  as  early  as  1864  we  find  a  classical  discussion 
about  the  possibility  of  introducing  orthodox  English 
books  in  the  district  schools. 

The  publisher  of  De  Wachter,  C.  Yorst,  in  1862,  was  the 
first  one  to  print  four  “school  booklets”  in  the  Dutch  lan¬ 
guage,  an  undertaking  in  which  the  Classis  backed  him 
officially. 

Nor  was  the  fostering  care  confined  to  what  we  men¬ 
tioned  hitherto.  As  early  as  February,  1861,  the  looking 
around  for  persons  of  talent  and  promise  to  be  trained  for 
teaching,  was  named  as  well  as  doing  this  regarding  suit¬ 
able  persons  for  ministerial  education.  It  was  even  de¬ 
cided,  in  1871,  to  take  up  the  matter  of  educating  men  to 
become  school  teachers,  and  to  look  for  a  suitable  person 
to  provide  the  normal  training  involved.  Nothing  came 
of  this,  however,  and  in  loyalty  to  truth  it  should  be  stated 
here  that  the  “Dutch  Schools”  at  the  time  were  far  from 
ideal  institutions  of  learning.  The  discipline  often  was 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


141 


wretched,  the  equipment  poor,  the  buildings  inadequate, 
the  salaries  discouragingly  low,  and  the  moral  support  of 
some  of  the  parents  far  from  satisfactory.  All  honor  to 
the  pioneer  teachers  who,  notwithstanding  so  many  handi¬ 
caps  and  discouragements,  devoted  some  of  the  best  years 
of  their  life  to  the  primary  schools.  We  should  never  for¬ 
get  such  men  as  A.  Pleune,  J.  Gezon,  G.  Van  Oyen,  P. 
Monningh,  E.  Luininga,  T.  M.  Vanden  Bosch  and  others 
who  served  acceptably  and  self-denyingly  during  the 
period  of  struggle. 

We  may  distinguish  four  periods  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Primary  School  in  our  circles. 

During  the  first,  1857 — 1880,  the  teaching  of  Dutch  was 
emphasized.  During  the  second,  1880 — 1890,  the  Chris¬ 
tian  character  of  the  School  received  stress,  especially 
through  the  pleading  of  men  like  J.  Veltkamp,  B.  J.  Ben- 
nink,  H.  Jacobsma,  J.  B.  Hoekstra,  and  others.  During 
the  years  1890 — 1900  the  English  was  accorded  a  place 
next  to  the  Dutch,  and  from  the  beginning  of  the  twen¬ 
tieth  century  we  may  date  approximately  the  fourth 
period,  wherein  the  language  of  our  country  has  become 
the  medium  of  instruction  in  all  our  Christian  Schools, 
the  Dutch  usually  being  taught  only  as  a  branch.  Mean¬ 
while,  toward  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  under 
the  advocacy  of  P.  B.  Holtman  and  others,  a  change  took 
place  as  to  the  auspices  under  which  the  primary  schools 
labored.  Up  to  that  time  they  were  under  congregational 
control.  Since  then  they  have  been  maintained  in  nearly 
all  cases  by  “Societies”  of  Christian  parents  and  others, 
on  the  principle  that  education  in  its  various  stages  is  pri¬ 
marily  the  duty  of  parents  as  such  rather  than  that  of  the 
church  or  the  state.  (See  Chapter  IX,  §5,  for  detailed  dis¬ 
cussion.) 

In  1898  Synod  issued  an  urgent  appeal,  written  by  the 
persistent  and  able  champion  of  the  cause,  the  Rev.  K. 
Kuiper,  and  stating  that  positive  Christian  instruction  was 


142 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


involved  in  the  Bible  command  about  the  training  of  chil¬ 
dren  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  as  well  as  in  the  promise 
made  by  parents  at  the  baptism  of  their  children.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  no  separation  should  be  permitted  between  the 
civil,  social,  and  the  religious  life  in  the  matter  of  educa¬ 
tion.  The  revised  Church  Order  (see  Chapter  X,  §5)’  had 
the  matter  of  Christian  education  embodied  in  its  Ar¬ 
ticle  21 :  “The  consistories  shall  see  to  it  that  there  are 
good  Christian  Schools  where  [in  which?]  the  parents 
have  their  children  instructed  according  to  the  demands 
of  the  Covenant”.  Under  the  impetus  of  this  denomina¬ 
tional  encouragement,  spurred  on  by  the  success  of  the 
Christian  School  movement  in  the  Netherlands,  as  well  as 
under  the  inspiration  and  conviction  of  the  principle  ex¬ 
pressed  above,  and  under  the  leadership  of  strong  men, 
many  of  them  reared  in  the  Christian  Schools  themselves, 
either  in  Holland  or  in  America,  the  free  Primary  School 
movement  has  made  much  progress  in  every  way,  and  is 
able  in  more  than  one  place  to  successfully  compete  with 
public  institutions.  A  battle  to  obtain  a  fair  portion  of  the 
public  money  set  aside  for  the  education  of  the  citizens  of 
our  land,  looks  to  us  as  a  part  of  a  future  program,  to  be 
drawn  up  courageously.  But  even  without  this  support, 
the  cause  in  recent  years  has  grown  by  leaps  and  bounds. 
That  esteemed  veteran  teacher  and  leader  in  the  cause, 
B.  J.  Bennink.  is  our  authority  for  the  statement  that  in 
1922  there  were  75  Free  Christian  Primary  Schools  of  our 
people  in  at  least  15  States  of  our  Union,  besides  Canada, 
enrolling  11,000  pupils,  taught  by  300  teachers,  at  an  an¬ 
nual  expense  of  $275,000.  The  societies  in  the  different 
centers  form  “Alliances”.  In  1921  a  “National  Union  of 
the  Christian  Schools”  was  formed,  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  Christian  instruction  in  general  by  means  of  the  train¬ 
ing  of  teachers,  the  publication  of  propaganda  literature, 
the  raising  of  the  standard  of  instruction,  the  protection  of 
the  economical  interests  of  the  teachers,  the  extension  of  a 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING 


143 


helping  hand  and  the  supervision  of  schools.  March,  1922, 
the  first  number  of  the  organ  of  this  Union  appeared,  the 
Christian  School  Magazine ,  with  Garrett  Heyns,  of  Hull, 
Iowa,  as  editor-in-chief. 

In  Los  Angeles,  Calif.,  our  people  are  cooperating  with 
a  Society  for  Christian  Instruction,  composed  of  Christians 
of  all  evangelical  beliefs,  who  endorse  the  following  state¬ 
ment  of  principles: 

(1)  The  Bible  is  the  infallible  Word  of  God. 

(2)  God  as  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  and  His  unfail¬ 
ing  providence  over  the  same. 

(3)  The  deity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  His  virgin 
birth,  His  substitutionary  atonement  by  His  death 
on  the  cross,  His  bodily  resurrection,  and  ascen¬ 
sion,  and  His  personal  return. 

(4)  The  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  His  ministry  of 
regenerating  men,  and  of  sanctifying,  comforting, 
and  guiding  Christians  in  accordance  with  the 
Scriptures. 

(5)  The  creation  of  man  in  the  image  of  God,  his  fall 
through  disobedience,  and  his  opportunity  for  sal¬ 
vation  and  eternal  life  through  justification  by 
faith  in  Christ. 

(6)  The  supreme  Christian  task  is  to  preach  the  Gos¬ 
pel  as  a  witness  to  the  world,  and  to  build  up  those 
who  accept  Christ  as  personal  Saviour  “unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.” 
(Ephesians  4:  13.) 

(7)  Ethics  for  every  phase  of  life,  including  Christian 
stewardship,  as  based  on  the  Word  of  God. 

No  doubt  the  future  will  reveal  that  the  perpetuation 
and  extension  of  the  Christian  School  movement  will  de¬ 
mand  an  increasing  cooperation  on  the  broader  basis  of 
principles  above  outlined.  (See  Chapter  IX,  §5  about  the 
principles  underlying  the  Christian  School  movement.) 


144 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  does  the  Church  of  God  demand  a  well-trained 
ministry? 

2.  How  was  the  ministry  trained  during  the  early  centuries  of 
the  Christian  Church  and  later? 

3.  What  can  you  tell  about  our  early  training  under  the  Rev. 
D.  J.  Vander  Werp? 

4.  What  can  you  say  about  the  persons  and  work  of  Professors 
G.  E.  Boer,  G.  K.  Hemkes,  G.  Vos,  and  H.  Beuker? 

5.  What  progress  is  shown  by  the  Catalogs  of  the  School  from 
1900—1922? 

6.  What  are  the  functions  of  the  president  of  Calvin  College? 

7.  What  can  you  state  about  the  Seminary  as  a  separate 
institution? 

8.  Tell  what  you  know  about  Grundy  College,  the  Western 
Academy,  and  the  Christian  High  Schools  opened  in  recent 
years. 

9.  What  do  you  know  about  the  Christian  Primary  Schools  dur¬ 
ing  the  period  of  Struggle — up  to  1880? 

10.  What  can  you  tell  about  the  movement  since  the  twentieth 
century  began? 

WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

Dr.  H.  H.  Kuyper,  “De  Opleiding  tot  den  Dienst  des  Woords,  bij 
de  Gereformeerden”. 

J.  Vander  Zee,  “The  Hollanders  of  Iowa”. 

M.  C.  T.  I.  Lectures,  1914,  (Michigan  Christian  Teachers’  In¬ 
stitute)  . 

Prof.  L.  Berkhof,  Education,  pp.  Ill — 125,  in  “Subjects  and 
Outlines”. 


CHAPTER  VII 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED 

CHURCH 

Introductory:  The  Why  of  Missions.  §1.  Home  Mission  Work. 
§2.  Indian  Mission  Work.  §3.  Jewish  Missions.  §4.  Work 
Among  Immigrants  and  Sailors.  §5.  Evangelization  and  Mor¬ 
mon  Work.  §6.  The  Argentine  Churches.  §7.  The  China  Mis¬ 
sion.  §8.  The  Mission  Board  and  the  Director  of  Missions. 
§9.  Means  to  Arouse  a  Mission  Spirit.  §10.  The  Student  Vol¬ 
unteer  Movement. 

INTRODUCTORY:  THE  WHY  OF  MISSIONS 

BY  MISSIONS  we  understand  the  organized  efforts  to 
christianize  people  living  outside  of  the  Covenant  of 
grace  or  in  practical  estrangement  from  it.  In  American 
denominational  usage  the  term  has  also  come  to  include 
church  extension  work,  the  “gathering  of  churches”,  such 
as  takes  place  in  new  settlements  of  our  people  and  else¬ 
where.  The  work  of  missions  is  based  on  the  will  of  God 
as  expressed  in  His  decree,  His  command,  and  His  prom¬ 
ise.  His  decree  includes  the  redemption  of  a  multitude 
which  no  man  can  number,  out  of  every  nation  and  of  all 
tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  Rev.  7 :  9.  The  missionary 
command  is  principally  the  one  of  Matthew  28:  19,  20: 
“Go  ye  therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  commanded  you”.  The  promises  in  which 
God  has  expressed  His  holy  will  about  missions  are  num¬ 
berless,  among  them  such  as  Psalm  22 :  27 :  “All  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  remember  and  turn  unto  Jehovah;  and 
all  the  kindreds  of  the  nations  shall  worship  before  thee”. 
Malachi  1 :  11 :  “From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto 
the  going  down  of  the  same,  My  Name  shall  be  great 
among  the  Gentiles”. 


146 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


The  Lord  of  the  harvest  sends  forth  laborers  into  His 
harvest  by  means  of  local  churches  (Acts  13:  1),  or  groups 
of  churches  (Acts  15:  22-25;  2  Cor.  8:  19,  23).  Missionaries 
are  ministers  of  the  Word,  aided  by  all  kinds  of  “helps” 
(1  Cor.  12:  28),  for  medical,  educational,  and  other  philan¬ 
thropic  purposes,  which  “helps”  are  to  serve  as  hand¬ 
maidens  in  the  work  of  evangelization,  the  chief  part  of 
true  missionary  activity.  The  object  of  missions  is  three¬ 
fold  :  the  conversion  of  sinners,  the  planting  of  churches, 
and  the  glorifying  of  God  (Eph.  1:10;  3:10,  11;  Rom. 
11:  32).  Incentives  to  missionary  activity  are  and  should 
be:  (1)  Loving  obedience  to  carry  out  the  command  of 
our  Savior,  that  God’s  will  may  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,  His  decree  executed  and  His  promises  fulfilled; 
(2)  the  inexpressibly  great  and  urgent  need  of  perishing 
multitudes;  (3)  the  strategic  opportunity  of  the  present, 
with  open  doors  everywhere;  (4)  the  very  nature  of  Chris¬ 
tian  life,  also  that  of  the  church,  namely,  to  grow;  (5)  the 
impulse  of  Christian  love:  to  give,  rather  than  to  receive; 
(6)  the  reflex  blessing  for  the  church  as  well  as  for  the 
consecrated  worker,  shown  by  history;  (7)  the  privilege  of 
serving  as  an  instrument  in  bringing  to  Christ  the  reward 
of  His  suffering  (John  4:  35;  Isaiah  53:  10,  11).  Compare 
special  reasons  under  Home,  Indian  and  Jewish  Mission 
work,  §1,  §2,  and  §3. 

§1.  HOME  MISSION  WORK 

The  denominational  Home  Mission  work  in  the  sense 
of  Church  extension  activity  was  carried  on  during  the 
early  years  of  the  history  of  the  denomination,  by  the 
various  ministers.  Especially  the  Rev.  K.  Vanden  Bosch  is 
entitled  to  credit.  He  traveled  not  alone  in  Michigan,  but 
organized  a  church  in  Milwaukee  at  an  early  date  and  was 
active  in  Illinois  and  Iowa  as  well  as  in  New  Jersey.  The 
Rev.  D.  J.  Vander  Werp  also  nobly  took  his  part  in  going 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


147 


up  and  down  our  land,  in  days  when  traveling  meant  ex¬ 
posure  and  fatigue  as  well  as  loss  of  valuable  time.  But 
necessity  compelled  them  to  be  in  journeyings  often,  to 
gather  scattered  fellow-believers  of  Dutch  and  East 
Friesian  and  Bentheim  stock.  It  was  realized  soon,  how¬ 
ever,  that  such  work  could  not  very  well  be  carried  on  by 
men  in  the  regular  pastorate.  Therefore  we  find  as  early 
as  1864  the  need  expressed  of  a  “classical  minister”.  But 
either  men  or  means,  or  both,  were  lacking  until  1879 
when  the  candidate  T.  M.  Vanden  Bosch  became  itinerant 
minister  for  Home  Missions.  The  incumbent  had  taught 
school  in  Kalamazoo  before  he  took  a  short  course  in  the 
Grand  Rapids  Theological  School.  He  was  a  lover  of  mis¬ 
sions,  though,  as  we  shall  see  later,  not  as  stable  as  he 
might  have  been.  His  work  led  to  the  appointment  of  a 
Home  Mission  Committee  (1880),  with  K.  Vanden  Bosch, 
kinsman  of  the  new  missionary,  as  president,  Rev.  G. 
Broene  as  treasurer,  and  Rev.  E.  L.  Meinders  as  secretary, 
an  organization  later  known  as  “Board”  and  functioning 
till  1907,  when  the  work,  formerly  denominational,  was 
placed  under  classical  auspices.  Since  then  a  general 
treasury  committee  merely  functions  to  receive  and  dis¬ 
tribute  the  funds  offered  by  the  various  congregations. 
Rev.  T.  M.  Vanden  Bosch  labored  East  and  West  as  well  as 
in  Michigan,  and  his  resignation  in  1882  was  accepted  with 
regret. 

For  the  space  of  four  years  no  successor  was  obtained 
and  no  doubt  serious  losses  as  to  church  extension  would 
have  occurred  if  it  had  not  been  for  devoted  ministers  like 
the  Bode  and  Broene  brothers,  already  named,  and  the 
Revs.  R.  T.  Kuiper,  Meinders,  and  others,  among  them 
theological  students.  These  men  traveled  up  and  down 
the  Dakotas,  Minnesota,  and  Kansas  as  well  as  in  Iowa, 
“gathering  churches”.  In  Northern  Michigan  several  new 
churches  were  organized  during  a  panic  under  President 
Cleveland’s  administration.  Finally,  in  1886,  candidate 


148 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


M.  J.  Marcusse  succeeded  Rev.  Vanden  Bosch.  The  new 
worker  labored  with  success,  organizing  eleven  congrega¬ 
tions  during  his  missionary  activity,  which  terminated  in 
1888.  This  encouraged  the  Synod  of  the  year  last  named 
to  call  a  second  worker  into  the  field,  the  Rev.  M.  Van 
Vessem,  who  brought  the  message  far  and  near,  in  three 
languages,  the  German  of  his  mother,  the  Dutch  of  his 
father,  and  the  English  of  his  native  land — America.  The 
two  years  of  his  missionary  service  abounded  with  laud¬ 
able  activity.  A  third  worker  who  rendered  splendid 
service  in  the  Home  Mission  field  was  the  Rev.  E.  Breen, 
who  labored  very  successfully,  although  only  for  about  the 
space  of  one  year,  and  so  much  zeal  for  the  work  was 
aroused  that  the  1892  Synod  empowered  the  Missionary 
Committee  to  engage  as  many  workers  as  its  funds  al¬ 
lowed.  Soon  we  see  three  new  men  working  in  the  Home 
Mission  fields.  The  Rev.  J.  Noordewier  combined  activ¬ 
ity  in  that  line  with  collecting  funds  for  the  new  school 
building.  The  Rev.  H.  Bode  labored  especially  among  the 
Germans,  and  moreover,  was  laudably  active  in  caring  for 
the  people  brought  to  Colorado  through  a  colonization  ef¬ 
fort  made  by  an  Immigration  Society  with  headquarters 
at  Utrecht  in  the  Netherlands. 

A  very  glowing  but  misleading  publicity  brought 
some  300  Dutch  people,  nearly  all  of  the  Reformed  faith, 
to  the  San  Luis  valley  in  Colorado.  They  had  looked  for 
an  “Italy  in  western  North  America”,  with  a  soil  like  that 
of  the  Netherlands.  Houses  were  said  to  be  ready  to  re¬ 
ceive  them.  Instead,  when  the  vanguard,  about  200  people, 
arrived  on  the  spot,  seven  miles  from  Alamosa,  Decem¬ 
ber  1,  1892,  they  found  what  was  practically  a  wilderness, 
abounding  with  sandy  soil,  covered  with  sage  brush,  chico, 
and  rabbit  brush,  and  with  primitive  places  of  shelter.  At 
times  sickness  and  the  death  of  several  children,  as  well  as 
the  cold,  drove  the  immigrants  practically  to  desperation. 
The  Utrecht  company  was  unable  to  pay  the  second  in- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


149 


stallment  on  the  land  option.  A  “Farmers’  Committee, 
composed  of  L.  Verburg,  D.  Sjaardema,  J.  Zwier,  F.  Zyl- 
stra,  and  A.  J.  Van  Lummel,  took  matters  into  its  hands. 
But  it  was  unable  to  effect  a  lasting  improvement.  Some 
made  a  contract  for  land  belonging  to  the  Empire  Land 
and  Canal  Company  and  in  this  “Holland  Colony”  a  con¬ 
gregation  was  organized  during  February,  1893.  Others 
went  to  Crook,  in  the  Platte  valley,  in  northwestern  Colo¬ 
rado.  Both  settlements  soon  proved  to  be  failures. 

But,  as  stated,  the  Bev.  H.  Bode  and  others  were  active 
in  bringing  many  of  the  deluded  colonists  to  various  con¬ 
gregations,  notably  in  Iowa,  where  they  strengthened 
church-life  considerably.  Three  of  the  sons  of  the  Colo¬ 
rado  victims  later  entered  our  ministry,  namely,  the  Bevs. 
F.  and  W.  Stuart,  and  D.  Zwier.  While  the  Colorado  un¬ 
dertaking  was  a  failure,  it  brought  a  blessing  in  disguise  to 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  owing  to  missionary 
effort. 

The  Rev.  J.  A.  Westervelt  was  the  first  home  mission¬ 
ary  of  the  denomination  laboring  exclusively  in  English- 
speaking  circles,  1892 — 1893,  a  work  which  since  then  has, 
alas,  been  practically  at  a  standstill.  When  the  mission¬ 
ary  workers  named  hitherto  retired  from  the  work,  assum¬ 
ing  pastorates,  new  forces  were  obtained.  In  1895  the 
candidates  J.  W.  Brink  and  J.  Smitter  were  ordained  to 
serve  as  home  missionaries.  At  the  Synod  of  1896  it  was 
reported  by  the  Committee  that  its  workers  had  labored  in 
thirty  places,  and  that  since  the  Synod  of  1894  not  less 
than  fourteen  congregations  had  been  organized.  Ex¬ 
pansion  territorially,  too,  was  in  evidence.  Before  the 
end  of  the  nineteenth  century  churches  had  been  organ¬ 
ized  literally  from  coast  to  coast.  (See  Chapter  V,  §1.) 

A  happy  broadening  of  missionary  vision  was  evident 
in  the  decision  of  the  Synod  of  1898  to  begin  labors  among 
the  “Americans” — as  soon  as  work  among  our  people  al- 


150 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


lowed  this,  “that  influence  might  be  exerted  among  the 
American  people”.  The  idea  of  the  leaven  and  the  salt 
was  gaining  ground.  And  that  this  leaven  and  salt  might 
be  as  good  as  possible,  in  other  words,  that  the  workers 
might  be  equipped  property,  was  no  doubt  back  of  the 
resolution  of  1902  that  missionary  branches  of  study 
should  be  taught  in  the  Theological  School. 

Sp  ace  fails  us  to  give  even  the  names  of  the  men  who 
labored  in  the  mission  field  under  the  auspices  of  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Board  of  Home  Missions,  which,  as  already  told, 
ceased  to  function  in  1907,  when  Classical  Home  Mission 
Committees  took  over  the  actual  work,  each  within  its  own 
territory.  But  those  who  labored  in  this  field  deserve  the 
lasting  gratitude  of  the  denomination.  And  among  those 
entitled  to  thankful  appreciation  are  not  alone  the  work¬ 
ers  especially  set  aside  for  the  task,  but  also  the  pastors  of 
certain  centers  who  labored  just  as  diligently  in  the  “gath¬ 
ering  of  churches”,  such  as  the  Rev.  J.  Manni  around 
Pella,  Iowa,  and  the  Rev.  E.  Breen  around  Orange  City,  in 
the  same  State.  If  we,  like  Roosevelt,  can  speak  of  the 
“Winning  of  the  West”,  it  is  due,  under  God,  to  teamwork 
of  all  kinds  of  laborers,  and  to  their  vision  of  the  worth¬ 
whileness  of  carrying  our  principles  into  “regions  beyond”. 

As  to  outstanding  figures  among  the  noble  band  of  our 
Home  Missionaries,  we  mention  particularly  the  Rev. 
J.  R.  Brink  from  1905  to  1907,  and  again  since  1913,  a 
worker  with  unusual  success  in  his  labors  of  gathering 
and  strengthening  churches.  There  would  not  be  the 
girdle  of  congregations  now  encircling  Grand  Rapids  and 
Kalamazoo,  if  it  had  not  been,  under  God,  for  his  wise 
planning,  statesmanlike  guidance  and  persistent  effort. 

Home  mission  work  is  very  important.  There  are  not 
alone  the  reasons  for  it  given  in  the  introductory  para- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


151 


graph,  but  additional  ones  of  the  greatest  import.  We 
have,  for  instance,  our  Savior’s  example — going  up  and 
down  His  own  country  doing  good,  teaching,  and  healing. 
We  have  His  special  command  to  be  His  witnesses,  in  the 
order  given:  “in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Sa¬ 
maria,  and.... unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth” — a 
charge  clearly  bringing  out  that  our  first  duty  is  gospel- 
izing  those  nearest  to  us.  Home  mission  work  is  the 
foundation;  foreign  work  the  superstructure. 

Home  mission  work  also  is  a  patriotic  duty — and  a 
Christian  is  a  patriot.  The  Bible  states  that  righteousness 
exalts  a  nation.  True  righteousness  is  imparted  by  means 
of  Christian  efforts  to  seek  for  the  lost  sheep,  to  teach  the 
ignorant,  and  to  furnish  church  homes  to  the  immigrants 
and  others  who  never  enjoyed  church  privileges.  Espe¬ 
cially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  more  than  half  of  our  na¬ 
tion’s  population  is  outside  of  the  visible  church,  and  over 
twenty-six  million  children  and  young  people  without 
Sunday  school  privileges,  the  urgent  need  of  mission  work 
to  “leaven  the  nation”  and  to  keep  it  from  decay  is  evident. 

Finally,  home  mission  work  brings  the  most  encourag¬ 
ing  returns.  It  supplies  and  strengthens  the  home  base. 
Many  servants  of  God,  at  home  or  abroad,  have  been 
brought  into  the  church  by  means  of  mission  work  among 
the  unchurched.  There  are  several  instances  of  that  in 
the  Christian  Reformed  ministry.  Moreover,  institutions 
of  learning  have  quite  a  number  of  students  enrolled  from 
territory  opened  by  the  home  missionary.  Careful  compu¬ 
tation  brought  out  the  fact  that  at  least  four-fifths  of  the 
congregations  of  evangelical  churches  of  our  country  are 
of  home  mission  origin,  and  fully  one-half  of  the  amount 
contributed  for  home  mission  work  comes  from  churches 
once  depending  on  home  missionary  funds.  And  as  to 
assets  regarding  intercessory  prayers,  from  the  lips  and 
hearts  of  those  whom  the  Lord  through  His  servants  found 


152 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


as  “strangers,  wandering  from  the  fold  of  God”,  no  one 
can  estimate  their  value. 

“Our  country’s  voice  is  pleading, 

Ye  men  of  God,  arise, 

His  Providence  is  leading, 

The  land  before  you  lies; 

Day-gleams  are  o’er  it  brightening, 

And  promise  clothes  the  soil, 

Wide  fields  for  harvest  whitening 
Invite  the  reaper’s  toil.” 

§2.  INDIAN  MISSION  WORK 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  denom¬ 
ination  there  were  a  few  individuals  who  loved  the  cause 
of  missions.  This  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  already  in 
1857,  at  the  second  classical  meeting,  it  was  resolved  to 
hold  monthly  prayer-meetings  for  the  extension  of  God’s 
Kingdom,  with  a  special  offering  for  the  purpose  of  dis¬ 
tributing  Bibles.  Two  years  later  offerings  for  a  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  were  recommended.  To  S.  Lukas  of  Graaf- 
schap  belongs  the  honor  of  having  anew  stirred  up  the 
churches  when  interest  had  begun  to  wane  in  the  course 
of  the  year.  The  money  collected  during  these  missionary 
meetings  was  at  first  sent  to  South  Africa  where  the  Rev. 
D.  Postma  was  laboring,  in  the  Transvaal,  and  also  to  the 
Netherlands  to  aid  the  new  missionary  work  of  the  church 
of  the  fathers.  In  1878  a  pentecostal  collection  was  re¬ 
solved  upon  as  a  standing  rule,  and  the  Rev.  J.  Noorde- 
wier  was  appointed  treasurer  of  the  fund.  Nothing,  how¬ 
ever,  was  done  during  the  period  of  struggle  in  the  line  of 
direct  mission  work  among  the  heathen. 

Let  no  one  despise  the  churches  of  that  time  for  this. 
It  was  a  period  of  root  formation  rather  than  that  of 
fruit-bearing.  For  that  matter,  the  modern  missionary 
movement  was  still  in  its  early  stages  among  Dutch  people 
everywhere,  and  besides  that,  there  were  many  needs  at 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


153 


home  while  dollars  were  scarce  and  members  few.  More¬ 
over,  in  Grand  Rapids  and  Vriesland  the  men  and  women 
of  1857  left  all  behind  of  the  church  property  for  which 
they  had  toiled  and  paid,  as  well  as  those  who  retained 
their  connection  with  the  Reformed  Church,  and  never 
was  a  voice  raised  to  re-imburse  them.  All  the  other  con¬ 
gregations,  except  Graafschap  and  Noordeloos,  had  to 
rear  their  parsonages  and  churches  without  any  help 
whatever  from  outsiders  or  from  any  denominational 
fund.  As  we  think  of  what  these  pioneers  did  single- 
handedly  in  building  their  structures  for  religious  pur¬ 
poses,  and  sending  for  their  pastors  from  abroad,  we 
rather  wonder  at  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  some  must 
have  displayed.  Our  emulation  much  rather  than  our 
scorn  is  called  for.  And  as  soon  as  the  hands  of  our  pio¬ 
neers  were  free,  comparatively  speaking,  they  engaged  in 
the  task  of  extending  a  helping  hand  to  people  living  out¬ 
side  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  The  Synod  of  1888  started 
a  new  epoch  in  this  regard.  It  resolved  to  appoint  a  spe¬ 
cial  committee  for  this  work.  Its  five  charter  members 
were  the  Revs.  R.  T.  Kuiper,  E.  Ros,  and  T.  M.  Vanden 
Bosch,  and  the  elders  J.  W.  Garvelink  and  J.  Gelock. 

That  Synod  also  agreed  by  majority  vote  to  commence 
mission  work  among  the  Indians  of  our  land,  because  it 
was  felt  that  a  special  debt  of  honor  was  due  the  abori¬ 
gines  of  our  country,  a  people  “scattered  and  peeled”,  that 
we  might  become  settled  and  enriched.  The  force  of  “be¬ 
ginning  at  Jerusalem”  was  felt  as  a  special  argument  ap¬ 
plying  to  the  Indians,  and  enforced  by  the  thought  that  the 
white  man  had  dispossessed  him  of  so  much,  that  only 
spiritual  wealth  could  be  a  substitute  for. 

October  23,  1889,  was  the  eventful  day  of  the  installa¬ 
tion  of  the  first  Christian  Reformed  missionary  to  the 
pagans.  It  was  the  Rev.  T.  M.  Vanden  Bosch  who,  as  we 
saw,  had  also  been  the  first  Home  Missionary.  He  gave 


154 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


himself,  when  he  found  that  no  one  else  among  our  min¬ 
istry  was  obtainable  for  the  work.  He  went  out  cour¬ 
ageously  to  the  Rosebud  Agency  in  Dakota  to  labor  among 
the  Sioux  Indians.  But  the  people  of  the  Western  prairies 
were  not  like  those  of  the  Isles  of  the  Sea,  “awaiting  his 
doctrine”.  The  missionary  lacked  all  special  training  for 
his  work.  He  did  not  realize  that  infinite  patience  is 
needed  for  gospel  work  among  our  aborigines,  because  the 
Indian,  taught  by  “centuries  of  dishonor”,  does  not  con¬ 
fide  in  the  white  man’s  message  till  he  has  time  to  learn 
to  trust  the  messenger.  Discouraged  and  disillusioned 
Rev.  Vanden  Bosch  retired  from  the  work  during  the  fall 
of  1890.  The  Church  was  shocked  from  center  to  cir¬ 
cumference  by  this  apparent  failure  of  a  much-prayed-for 
work,  perhaps  unaware  of  the  historical  fact  that  other 
denominations  went  through  similar  discouraging  ex¬ 
periences  in  founding  new  missions. 

For  a  time  there  was  a  standstill  in  the  activity  among 
the  heathen,  although  there  was  progress  at  the  “Home 
Base”.  Local  missionary  societies  began  to  study  the  sub¬ 
ject.  Articles  in  the  Church  weekly  spread  information. 
Gifts  for  the  work  slowly  on  increased  and  two  young  men 
were  in  training  for  the  work.  The  Synod  of  1896  re¬ 
affirmed  the  action  taken  eight  years  previous,  and  after 
a  trip  of  investigation  the  Navajo  field  in  New  Mexico  was 
selected.  On  the  10th  day  of  October,  1896,  the  pioneer 
missionaries  arrived  at  Gallup,  N.  M.,  being  the  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  H.  Fryling  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Vander  Wagen. 
A  few  days  later  work  was  begun  at  Fort  Defiance ,  where 
the  Government  maintained  a  Boarding  School  for  young 
Navajos,  and  where  a  building  had  been  purchased  from 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Fruits  were  not  entirely 
lacking  at  this  place,  but  antagonism  displayed  by  the  Ro¬ 
man  Church  led  to  the  giving  up  of  that  post  in  1904. 
Meanwhile,  in  1897,  the  Pueblo  of  the  Zuni  Indians,  forty- 
five  miles  south  of  Gallup,  New  Mexico,  had  been  se- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


155 


lected  as  a  second  post.  Mr.  Vander  Wagen  was  stationed 
there  until  1906,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Fry- 
ling.  During  the  year  just  named  a  little  Chapel  had  been 
erected,  facing  the  Zuni  village.  Later  on  a  little  Day 
School  was  opened  in  the  Chapel  and,  moreover,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  opening  of  the  Black  Rock  Zuni  Govern¬ 
ment  Boarding  School  about  four  miles  distant,  the  work 
among  the  children  of  that  institution  was  placed  in 
charge  of  our  workers.  In  1915  Mr.  M.  Vander  Beek  be¬ 
came  assistant  to  Rev  Fryling  to  engage  in  work  especially 
among  the  young  men  and  according  to  Y.  M.  C.  A.  meth¬ 
ods,  a  work  continued  with  encouraging  success  by  Mr.  B. 
Sprik,  1921.  Among  the  women  of  the  village,  work  is 
carried  on  by  a  matron. 

In  1898  labors  among  the  Navajo  Indians  were  begun 
at  Tohatchi,  then  known  as  Little  Water  where  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  had  opened  a  Boarding  School.  Mr.  James  E. 
De  Groot  was  the  first  missionary  in  charge,  to  be  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  the  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink  who  rendered  valuable 
service  from  1900  to  1913.  Dr.  L.  S.  Huizenga  and  others 
also  labored  at  this  post.  Since  1915  Mr.  M.  Bouma  has 
been  doing  good  work  at  Tohatchi.  Rehoboth  was  opened 
in  1903  as  a  Boarding  School  under  our  own  auspices. 
The  disheartening  experience  in  Fort  Defiance  had  led  to 
see  the  desirability  of  having  a  Boarding  School  of  our 
own,  away  from  the  Indian  Reservation  although  near 
enough  to  be  in  constant  contact  with  the  people  among 
whom  the  work  is  carried  on.  Six  children  were  received 
there  by  Miss  Nellie  Noordhof  in  December,  1903.  In  1910 
a  hospital,  enlarged  during  1921,  was  added.  Since  1912 
the  Rev.  J.  W.  Brink  is  pastor  in  charge  aided  by  a  splen¬ 
did  corps  of  workers,  who  labor  in  the  school  as  well  as  in 
the  hospital.  During  the  year  1910  work  was  begun  at 
Two  Grey  Hills  at  present  known  as  Toadlena.  Baptists 
had  labored  there  since  1907.  Here  an  Indian  Boarding 
School  is  maintained  by  the  Government.  Rev.  L.  P.  Brink, 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


157 


stationed  there  since  1914,  works  diligently  at  this  place. 
Crown  Point ,  opened  in  1913  when  the  Government 
founded  its  post  and  school  there,  has  seen  remarkable 
gospel  fruit  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Bolt, 
since  1915  stationed  there,  ably  seconded  by  his  wife. 
Within  two  years  fifty-seven  received  Holy  Baptism  at  this 
.  post. 

In  the  fall  of  1921,  when  the  quarter-centennial  of  the 
Indian  Mission  work  was  celebrated,  it  could  be  reported 
that  not  less  than  202  adult  Indians  had  been  baptized  by 
our  workers  during  that  period.  The  urgent  need  of  the 
Navajo  field  is  the  service  of  devoted  camp-workers  like 
Brother  W.  Mierop,  who  has  been  in  the  service  at  first  at 
Two  Grey  Hills,  and  since  1920  is  stationed  at  Rehoboth. 
The  need  is  also  felt  of  obtaining  consecrated  converts  for 
studying  in  a  Training  School.  Throughout  the  history  of 
missions,  while  evangelizing  has  been  done  by  foreign 
workers,  the  real  work  of  christianizing  has  been  carried 
on  by  native  converts.  Our  Navajo  field  is  a  very  exten¬ 
sive  one.  It  is  as  large  as  a  whole  province  of  the  Nether¬ 
lands.  Several  problems  are  connected  with  it,  one  of 
them,  that  of  the  material  prosperity  of  the  converts,  when 
the  new  religion  places  them  on  a  new  intellectual  and 
social  level. 

“Grant,  Lord,  that  we  repay  our  debt, 

In  regions  solitary  yet, 

Within  our  spreading  land; 

Where  pagan  tribes,  away  from  Home, 

In  heathen  darkness  blindly  roam, 

Needing  our  helping  hand.” 

“Lord  God,  so  full  of  wondrous  love, 

Grant  us  Thy  spirit  from  above; 

To  move  each  Christian  heart. 

Till  heralds  shall  Thy  truth  proclaim; 

Till  temples  rise  to  praise  Thy  Name 
Throughout  our  desert  West”. 


158 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§3.  JEWISH  MISSIONS 

The  Jew  also  should  be  the  object  of  missionary  care. 
Estranged  from  the  living  God  of  the  Bible,  rejecting 
God’s  Son,  trying  to  build  up  a  righteousness  of  his  own, 
or  in  blatant  unbelief  denying  God  altogether,  such  is  the 
condition  of  the  fifteen  millions  of  descendants  of  Abra¬ 
ham.  They  sorely  need  the  helping  hand  of  Christian  love 
in  the  Master’s  Name.  Jewish  mission  work  is  the  duty  of 
the  Church  because  the  Lord  Jesus  told  His  apostles  they 
were  to  begin  their  labors  at  Jerusalem,  Luke  24:  47. 
There  apostles  set  the  example  in  this  part  of  Kingdom 
activity.  God’s  decree  also  embraces  a  number  of  Jews, 
Romans  11 :  25-28.  Moreover,  we  owe  a  debt  to  this 
people.  “Our  Lord  has  sprung  out  of  Judah”,  Hebrews 
7 :  14.  The  first  heralds  of  the  Cross  were  Jews.  The 
oracles  of  God  were  committed  to  them,  Romans  3:  2,  and 
they  took  scrupulous  care  of  them.  “Christians”,  so-called, 
have  at  times  terribly  wronged  them.  And  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  cruelty  they  endured,  Jews  have  rendered  many 
good  services  both  to  the  old  country  whence  our  fathers 
came — their  haven  of  refuge  in  a  time  of  storm — and  to 
the  New  World,  now  the  habitation  of  over  three  millions 
of  them. 

Yet,  strange  to  say,  the  Church  has  been  very  slow  in 
discharging  its  debt  to  the  children  of  Abraham  according 
to  the  flesh.  So  it  was  also  with  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church.  During  its  period  of  struggle  only  now  and  then 
a  voice  was  raised  to  advocate  Jewish  mission  labors.  But 
in  1892  the  Synod  decided  to  ask  for  funds  to  further  the 
work,  and  for  a  number  of  years  the  Rev.  J.  I.  Fles,  him¬ 
self  of  Jewish  stock,  pleaded  touchingly  for  the  cause  by 
means  of  word  and  pen.  The  first  Jewish  Mission  Com¬ 
mittee  was  composed  of  the  Revs.  Fles  and  W.  Heyns  and 
elder  S.  S.  Postma.  During  the  first  few  years  various  mis¬ 
sion  work,  carried  on  under  different  auspices,  was  sup- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


159 


ported,  notably  that  of  the  Chicago  Hebrew  Mission.  But 
the  new  century  brought  expression  of  the  desire  to  under¬ 
take  work  denominationally  and  according  to  our  confes¬ 
sion,  whereas  most  of  the  Jewish  mission  activities  had 
been  carried  on  by  independent  societies,  without  specific¬ 
ally  Reformed  tenets.  The  desire  was  fulfilled  in  1913, 
when  the  Paterson  Hebrew  Mission,  which  three  years  be¬ 
fore  had  been  started  as  “interdenominational  work”, 
passed  over  into  the  hands  of  a  Committee  representing 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church.  In  1915  a  permanent 
home  was  purchased  for  it,  48  North  Main  Street,  Pater¬ 
son,  N.  J.  The  work  carried  on  includes  gospel  meetings, 
out-of-doors,  weather  permitting,  and  indoors  right  along, 
Sunday  school  and  weekday  classes,  distribution  of  tracts 
and  Scripture  portions,  house-to-house  visiting,  and  since 
1917,  dispensary  work.  A  reading-room  also  helps  in  call¬ 
ing  attention  to  the  things  of  God’s  Kingdom,  that  the  Jew 
may  find  his  Messiah — the  great  purpose  of  the  under¬ 
taking.  Workers  have  come  and  gone.  Consecrated 
women  labor  here  as  well  as  men.  The  Missionary-in¬ 
charge  is  Herman  H.  Schultz. 

The  Chicago  Jewish  Mission  originated  in  the  decision 
of  the  Synod  of  1918.  Its  first  missionary  was  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  Beld,  1919 — 1921,  ably  assisted  by  his  wife  and  others. 
Its  home  is  the  old  church  property  of  First  Chicago,  at 
1324  W.  14th  Street,  in  the  heart  of  a  ghetto  district.  The 
work  carried  on  is  along  the  lines  mentioned  above.  The 
Missionary-in-charge  is  J.  Rottenberg,  of  Jewish  stock,  and 
aided  by  other  workers. 

§4.  WORK  AMONG  IMMIGRANTS  AND  SAILORS 

Contributions  for  Immigrant  work  in  New  York  harbor 
were  given  as  early  as  1867.  Naturally  the  work  appealed 
to  the  Pilgrims  of  the  West  and  their  scions  and  followers, 
themselves  once  strangers  knocking  at  our  gates.  But  it 


160 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


was  not  until  1910  that  work  under  specifically  denomina¬ 
tional  auspices  was  begun,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Hack¬ 
ensack  Glassis.  Brethren  belonging  to  this  body  and  others, 
appointed  by  the  Hudson  Classis,  are  in  charge.  Mr.  M. 
Bouma  (see  §2)  began  his  labors  as  superintendent  in 
February,  1910,  to  be  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  H.  Dekker, 
1913 — 1916.  Rev.  T.  Jongbloed  served  from  1919  to  May, 
1922.  The  Missionary-in-charge,  since  May,  1922,  is  M.  J. 
Broekhuizen.  At  first  located  on  Hudson  Street,  in  Ho¬ 
boken,  N.  J.,  new  and  far  more  commodious  quarters  were 
secured  two  years  later,  at  332  River  Street,  Hoboken,  N.  J., 
where  the  “Holland  Immigration  Bureau”  renders  splen¬ 
did  aid  to  the  Holland  immigrants  as  they  pass  through 
the  great  eastern  gateway  of  our  country.  Work  is  also 
carried  on  in  behalf  of  Dutch  sailors  who  spend  some  time 
on  our  shore,  providing  a  reading-room  as  well  as  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  write  letters  home.  The  institution  has  kept 
many  a  seafaring  man  from  ways  of  sin,  and  continually 
points  him  to  the  great  Pilot,  whose  name  is  Jesus.  (Cf. 
The  Banner,  March  1,  1923,  ff.) 

§5.  EVANGELIZATION  AND  MORMON  WORK 

A  distinct  branch  of  mission  work  is  what  has  been 
called  “Inner  Mission”.  It  reaches  out  particularly  to  those 
within  our  own  borders  who  live  in  entire  or  partial 
estrangement  from  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  It  consists  in 
combining,  by  systematic  endeavor,  works  of  Christian 
philanthropy  with  evangelical  effort  in  behalf  of  the  phys¬ 
ical  and  particularly  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  needy 
classes.  The  name,  “Rescue  Mission  Work”,  has  at  times 
been  given  to  this  part  of  Kingdom  activity.  It  is  being 
carried  on  in  several  places,  such  as  Grand  Rapids,  Mus¬ 
kegon,  Holland,  and  Paterson,  usually  through  Sunday 
school  work.  But  to  the  Chicago  churches  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  initiated  a  far  more  comprehensive  work 
in  the  “Helping  Hand  Gospel  Mission”,  850  West  Madison 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


161 


Street,  Chicago,  Ill.,  where  labors  of  this  kind  were  begun 
during  the  winter  of  1912 — 1913.  In  1914  the  Rev.  P.  J. 
Hoekenga  was  the  first  minister  who  gave  himself  ener¬ 
getically  to  this  branch  of  activity,  succeeded  later  by  the 
Rev.  A.  J.  Rus.  The  Missionary-in-charge  is  Mr.  J.  Vande 
Water,  who  began  his  labors  as  assistant  in  1915,  and 
proves  himself  to  be  the  man  for  the  place,  ably  assisted 
by  others,  among  them  A.  Huisjen.  Various  other  stations 
are  operated  in  Chicago  and  environs.  Mr.  E.  J.  Ellens  is 
in  charge  of  similar  work  with  headquarters  at  Ham¬ 
mond,  Indiana. 

Work  among  the  Mormons ,  the  deluded  followers  of 
John  Smith,  has  also  been  undertaken  by  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church,  although,  alas,  not  as  permanent  and 
fruitful  as  the  above  named  activities.  Already  in  1863 
some  Holland  people  had  gone  to  Utah.  The  census  of  1920 
speaks  of  as  many  as  56,429  people  of  Dutch  birth  in  that 
state.  In  1896  Rev.  Vanden  Heuvel  pleaded  for  starting 
work  among  the  Utah  Hollanders.  And  praiseworthy  ef¬ 
forts,  inspired  by  the  Rev.  I.  Van  Dellen,  were  made  later 
on  by  the  corporteur,  Brother  W.  Van  Westenbrugge  and 
the  Rev.  W.  De  Groot,  the  former  beginning  his  work  in 
1911,  and  the  latter  in  1913.  They  tried  earnestly  to  pre¬ 
vail  upon  our  people  to  give  up  Mormonism.  But  the 
results  were  discouraging,  due  in  part  to  organized  oppo¬ 
sition  from  the  side  of  the  Mormon  hierarchy.  While  a 
few  were  persuaded  to  renew  allegiance  to  the  doctrine  of 
their  fathers,  the  work  was  given  up  in  course  of  time,  or 
at  least  remains  suspended,  until  now. 

§6.  THE  CHURCHES  IN  THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

From  1889  to  1891  some  two  or  three  thousand  Dutch 
people,  many  of  them  belonging  to  the  Reformed  Churches 
of  the  Netherlands,  migrated  to  the  Argentine  Republic, 
drawn  thither  by  glittering  promises  of  material  pros- 


162 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


perity.  Some  forty  families  settled  at  Micaela  Casca- 
lares.  The  financial  crisis  of  1890  brought  great  misery. 
A  number  of  the  people  then  went  to  Tres  Arroyos, 
twenty-five  kilometer  distant.  Others  went  to  Rosario 
and  Buenos  Aires.  In  Buenos  Aires  C.  Van  Nieuwen- 
huizen  at  first  served  as  teaching  elder.  In  1900  a  church 
was  organized  there.  A.  Struis,  who  at  first  had  been 
teaching  elder  at  Rosario  (since  1897) ,  served  the  Buenos 
Aires  church  as  pastor  from  1901  to  1905.  At  first  his 
church  was  crowded.  There  was  a  flourishing  Sunday 
school.  Singing  Society,  and  Women’s  Society.  But  Rev. 
Struis  was  not  able  to  hold  his  audience.  Many  young 
people  severed  connections  with  the  church.  Some  went 
into  the  world,  others  joined  the  Baptist  and  Methodist 
Churches.  Struis  resigned.  He  was  succeeded  in  1910  by 
the  Rev.  A.  C.  Sonneveldt  who  served  till  1914.  Four  years 
later  H.  H.  Hoogendorp  took  his  place,  serving  till  1923. 

In  Tres  Arroyos,  where  T.  Visbeek  had  done  much  to 
gather  the  remnant  into  a  church,  organized  in  1908,  Rev. 
A.  Rolloos  served  at  first,  succeeded  in  1913  by  Rev.  S.  Rij- 
per,  who  in  1920  returned  to  Holland. 

Meanwhile  some  Boers  from  South  Africa,  as  well  as  a 
number  of  Hollanders,  had  settled  in  Chubut,  some  1,000 
miles  south  of  Buenos  Aires.  Revs.  L.  P.  Yorster  and  A.  J. 
Jacobs,  from  South  Africa,  worked  here  successively  until 
Rev.  Sonneveldt  came  from  Buenos  Aires  to  shepherd  the 
two  congregations  in  that  faraway  country. 

Rev.  J.  Van  Lonkhuizen,  D.D.,  did  much  in  1908  to 
place  the  work  in  the  Argentine  Republic  on  a  Reformed 
basis. 

Since  a  number  of  years  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  in  North  America  supports  the  work  of  these 
struggling  churches  to  the  amount  of  about  $2,500  every 
two  years.  The  Argentine  congregations  form  a  Classis, 
connected  with  the  Provincial  Synod  of  South  Holland 
(South),  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Netherlands. 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


163 


Arrangements  are  pending  to  furnish  American  man¬ 
power  to  the  Argentine  churches  as  well  as  money. 

As  to  the  numbers  of  our  people  in  Argentina,  it  was 
reported  in  1923  that  the  Chubut  churches  had  some  800 
persons  on  their  rolls,  while  the  Buenos  Aires  congregation 
numbers  100  souls,  and  Rosario  60.  Tres  Arroyos  reported 
21  confessing  members  and  41  members  by  baptism.  San 
Cayetano,  considered  a  branch  of  Tres  Arroyos,  numbers 
41  souls. 

What  vast  distances  are  involved  in  the  work  in  Argen¬ 
tina  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  Chubut  is  six  days’ 
sailing  from  Buenos  Aires,  while  Rosario  and  Tres  Ar¬ 
royos  are  respectively  8  and  16  hours  per  train  away 
from  the  Argentine  capital.  Our  people  are  placed  in  very 
unfavorable  surroundings  spiritually.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
other  believers  from  the  Netherlands  will  join  them,  to 
strengthen  that  what  otherwise  seems  likely,  in  course  of 
time,  to  die.  Plans  to  bring  more  immigrants  are  on  foot 
owing  to  the  zeal  of  the  Rev.  Sonneveldt. 

§7.  THE  CHINA  MISSION 

Since  a  number  of  years  voices  were  pleading  for  be¬ 
ginning  mission  work  in  some  country  outside  of  our 
national  boundaries.  Cuba  was  mentioned  during  the 
years  following  the  Spanish-American  War.,  Persia  was 
championed  by  some  as  a  desirable  field.  Others  called 
attention  to  the  Dutch  East  India  islands  of  Bali  and  New 
Guinea.  A  few  spoke  of  the  crying  need  of  China,  or  men¬ 
tioned  the  Sudan.  Many  factors  were  at  work  to  stir  up 
the  people  of  the  denomination  to  carry  the  Gospel  to 
“regions  beyond”.  A  missionary  department  in  De  Wach- 
ter ,  opened  February  20,  1901,  occasional  poems  on  the 
subject,  the  work  of  many  misisonary  societies,  the  mis¬ 
sionary  appeal  which  many  a  teacher  in  our  Christian 
Schools  wove  into  the  teaching,  increasing  acquaintance 


164 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


with  the  abundant  missionary  material  published  in  Eng¬ 
lish  and  to  some  extent  in  Dutch — the  broadening  horizon 
of  our  young  people  as  better  schooling  was  obtained — all 
this,  as  well  as  more  preaching  on  missions  than  before, 
and  more  consecrating  of  children  to  the  cause  by  devoted 
fathers  and  mothers — helped  to  swell  the  chorus  of  the 
voices  pleading  for  work  overseas. 

The  rest  of  the  story  of  the  China  work  and  the  plans 
for  its  future  we  asked  Dr.  L.  S.  Huizenga  to  tell  us. 

He  informs  us:  “The  result  of  all  these  factors”, 
named  above,  “led  to  the  overtures  of  several  Classes  to 
the  Synod  of  1918  to  open  a  foreign  field.  A  committee 
appointed  by  a  previous  Synod,  1914,  brought  no  unani¬ 
mous  report  and  led  to  little  advancement.  The  Synod  of 
1918  appointed  a  committee  with  instructions  that  only 
showed  to  what  high  pitch  enthusiasm  had  developed.  The 
committee  was  instructed  to  visit  and  investigate  in  per¬ 
son  Central  Africa  and  China,  a  tremendous  territory  with 
no  less  than  one-third  of  the  world’s  inhabitants,  and  to 
report  two  years  later.  Whether  the  Synod  fully  realized 
what  it  asked  of  its  committee  will  never  be  known.  Prob¬ 
ably  not  fully  weighing  the  costs,  nevertheless  fully  deter¬ 
mined  to  do  the  best  they  could,  the  Synodical  Committee 
started  on  their  task. 

It  was  made  impossible  for  the  committee  to  visit  the 
field,  but  investigations  were  conducted  at  home  in  the 
cosmopolitan  city  of  New  York.  Here  men  from  both 
fields  were  met  and  conferences  attended,  giving  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  study  the  fields  in  detail  for  several  months. 
Hereupon  the  committee  conducted  an  active  campaign  in 
the  whole  denomination,  seeking  to  make  their  findings 
known  to  the  churches.  A  report  of  seventy  pages  was 
prepared  for  the  Synod,  and  a  sum  of  about  $75,000  was 
collected  for  the  opening  of  the  new  field.  The  aim  of  the 
financial  part  of  the  campaign  was  only  $50,000,  showing 
how  willing  the  people  were  to  give  to  the  cause. 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


165 


Pioneer  Workers 

The  Synod  of  1920  met  shortly  after  this  campaign  was 
finished.  It  also  proved  to  be  ready  for  action.  It  chose 
China* 1 2 3 4 5 6*  and  appointed  Dr.  Lee  S.  Huizenga  and  Rev.  J.  C. 
De  Korne  its  first  foreign  missionaries.  Rev.  H.  A.  Dyk- 
stra  was  added  to  these  two  men  after  a  couple  of  weeks, 
and  within  four  months  this  small  group  set  sail  for  China. 
The  LaGrave  Avenue  Church  of  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
called  Dr.  Huizenga  as  their  missonary  pastor  and  he  was 
installed  on  October  10th,  1920.  Rev.  J.  C.  De  Korne  ac¬ 
cepted  the  call  of  the  churches  of  Zeeland  and  was  in¬ 
stalled  as  their  representative  in  a  foreign  field  on  Sep¬ 
tember  21,  1920.  Rev.  H.  A.  Dykstra  received  a  call  from 
the  three  West  Side  churches  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  and 
was  ordained  to  the  holy  ministry  on  September  22,  1920. 

Three  Years  of  Pioneering 

On  October  30,  1920,  our  pioneer  group  of  missionaries 
met  in  a  small  upper  room  in  Federal  Hotel,  San  Fran¬ 
cisco,  with  Rev.  P.  J.  Hoekenga  and  a  few  of  his  parish¬ 
ioners.  Rev.  J.  J.  Hiemenga,  President  of  Calvin  College, 
had  also  made  a  special  effort  to  come,  arriving  just  in 
time  for  our  last  farewell  prayer  meeting.  We  shall  never 

*)  Reasons  given  by  Synod  for  choosing  China: 

(1)  The  rich  language  and  literature  of  the  Chinese. 

(2)  Kealthy  climate  (this  was  not  based  on  trustworthy  informa¬ 
tion  we  are  afraid). 

(3)  Travel  and  telegraph  is  convenient.  (This  all  depends  upon 
the  location  chosen.) 

(4)  Strategic  importance. 

(5)  Education  of  children.  (This  is  a  poor  argument,  as  the  edu¬ 
cation  of  the  children  in  China  requires  much  sacrifice  on  the 
part  of  the  missionaries,  probably  as  much  as  in  Africa.  This 
all  depends  upon  the  location  chosen.) 

(6)  People  are  conservative,  intellectual,  and  hence  fit  our 
people’s  type  of  character  more  than  the  African,  who  is 
emotional. 


166 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


forget  the  interest  these  men  showed  and  the  deep  emo¬ 
tion  that  filled  their  hearts  as  they  entrusted  us  to  the 
hands  of  Him  who  never  faileth. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  steamship  China  started  on 
her  journey  across  the  Pacific  waters.  Thirty  years  had 
she  carried  missionaries  to  the  East.  On  this  trip  the 
number  of  missionaries  was  greater  than  that  of  men 
from  other  walks  of  life. 

Our  pioneer  company  consisted  of  three  ordained  men 
with  their  wives  and  children.  Alphabetically  arranged 
they  were  as  follows:  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  Cl  De  Korne  and 
two  children,  Baldwin  and  Melvin;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  H.  A. 
Dykstra,  Rev.  L.  S.  Huizenga  and  three  children,  Ann, 
Myrtle,  and  Eunice.  The  oldest  in  the  company  was  in 
his  fortieth  year  and  the  youngest  only  two  months.  One 
had  eleven  years  of  experience  in  medical  mission  work 
and  pastoral  duties,  the  others  with  less  experience,  were 
filled  to  the  brim  with  enthusiasm.  The  adults  were  ready 
to  make  sacrifices,  the  children  had  no  say  in  the  matter. 
The  necessity  was  forced  upon  them.  Qualified  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  to  heal  the  sick  the  pioneer  company 
longed  for  the  day  when  they  could  settle  in  what  they 
might  call  their  own  field,  and  might  begin  to  realize  their 
ambitions.  Still  three  years  of  pioneering  preceded  this 
time. 

A  few  historical  data  in  connection  with  this  period 
will  be  helpful.  Passing  by  some  smaller  details,  such  as 
the  study  of  various  fields  in  China,  conferences  with 
China’s  foremost  missionary  experts,  studying  Pekinese  in 
Shanghai,  living  at  the  Missionary  Home  longer  probably 
than  any  other  three  families  from  any  Mission,  getting 
acquainted  with  Chinese  life,  getting  tastes  of  China’s  ex¬ 
treme  cold  and  torrid  heat,  trying  to  solve  the  mysterious 
money  exchange,  let  us  go  into  more  detail  concerning  a 
few  outstanding  experiences. 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


167 


In  the  first  place  we  want  to  speak  of  our  investigating 
tours.  The  last  to  leave  the  steamship  China  on  its  arrival 
in  Shanghai,  on  November  23,  1920,  was  the  oldest  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  group;  the  first  to  go  to  the  neighborhood  of 
our  new  field  were  the  two  younger  men,  Rev.  J.  G.  De 
Korne  going  by  one  route.  Rev.  H.  A.  Dykstra  by  another. 
They  were  followed  in  a  few  days  by  Dr.  L.  S.  Hui- 
zenga.  Each  traveled  by  a  different  route  through  Kiangsu 
province,  thus  seeing  much  of  the  field  and  work  of  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  mission,  but  neither  of  them  see¬ 
ing  the  field  to  which  the  Lord  finally  led  the  Church. 

The  next  trip  was  even  more  interesting.  It  took  the 
men  away  from  their  families  for  seven  weeks.  They  left 
on  H.  M.  S.  Dunera  on  February  9,  1921,  and  returned  on 
March  31,  1921,  traveling  2,700  miles  by  ocean  vessels,  by 
palatial  river  steamers,  by  Chinese  Junk,  by  rail,  by  coolie 
chair,  by  Chinese  houseboat  and  every  other  imaginable 
method.  This  trip  taught  us  a  great  deal  of  what  can  be 
done  by  well-planned  mission  work  in  a  few  years;  it 
showed  also,  in  contrast,  some  of  the  bandit  outrages  and 
desolations  wrought  by  them. 

Although  the  old  Chinese  junk,  filled  with  dry  bones  and 
rocking  on  the  sea  like  a  drunken  man,  nauseated  the  com¬ 
pany,  yet  the  whole  field  and  especially  the  beautiful  piece 
of  mission  work  of  Rev.  C.  E.  Patton  so  inspired,  that  the 
men  were  ready  to  recommend  it  to  our  Church.  We  ex¬ 
pected  to  take  over  this  field  from  the  Northern  Presby¬ 
terians,  but  when  all  was  done  and  said,  they  decided  to 
attempt  manning  the  stations  left  vacant  by  Rev.  C.  E.  Pat¬ 
ton’s  departure,  by  other  men  and  not  to  give  it  to  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church.  To  this  day  we  are  afraid  it 
was  because  we  were  too  Reformed  for  them. 

A  still  later  trip,  which  took  the  men  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  our  present  Jukao  field,  proved  of  the 


168 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


greatest  value.  It  led  the  missionaries  to  advise  the  Synod 
as  follows : 

“We  recommend  this  field  (Jukao)  to  our  Synod 
because : 

a)  The  fields  proposed  by  Synod,  Fukien,  Honan,  Yun¬ 
nan  did  not  prove  favorable. 

b)  It  is  virgin  territory. 

c)  It  is  in  the  most  populous  province  of  China. 

d)  It  is  favorable  for  cooperation  with  the  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church. 

e)  The  strategic  value  of  the  field  in  its  proximity  to 
Shanghai,  is  evident. 

/)  The  prosperity  of  the  people. 

g)  It  is  inexpensive  as  to  travel  to  and  from  the  home¬ 
land. 

h)  It  is  sufficiently  large  and  can  be  extended  north¬ 
ward  ad  libitum. 

The  study  of  the  language  was  next  undertaken. 

All  Boards  allow  their  new  missionaries  to  spend  the 
first  two  years  largely  in  language  study.  If  possible,  one 
year  is  spent  at  a  language  school.  Since  there  are  many 
dialects  in  China,  language  schools  have  been  erected  in 
various  places.  For  our  Jukao  field  the  Nanking  Lan¬ 
guage  School  is  best  adapted,  although  the  Peking  Lan¬ 
guage  School  can  be  used  also. 

Being  the  pioneer  group,  we  could  not  begin  language 
study  until  we  had  located  our  field. 

Our  field  having  been  settled  upon  by  Synod  in  June, 
1920,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  De  Korne  and  Rev.  and  Mrs.  H.  A. 
Dykstra  left  in  October,  1920,  for  Nanking  to  study  Man¬ 
darin,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  L.  S.  Huizenga  followed  them  in 
January,  1921.  During  the  fall  of  1922  all  went  to  Tai- 
chow,  Kiangsu,  to  continue  language  study  with  private 
teachers  except  Mrs.  Huizenga  and  her  children.  Within 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


169 


two  years  of  entering  upon  intensive  study  of  the  lan¬ 
guage,  both  Revs.  De  Korne  and  Dykstra  had  already  de¬ 
livered  their  first  gospel  message  in  the  Chinese  language 
to  a  Chinese  audience.  An  interesting  account  of  the 
first  sermons  is  given  by  Rev.  J.  C.  De  Korne  as  follows: 

“ . During  the  afternoon  of  that  same  day  there 

was  a  gathering  of  believers  in  our  little  chapel  in  Jukao. 
Only  the  baptized  Christians  and  those  known  to  be  in¬ 
quirers  were  admitted.  Thus  only  about  twenty-five 

people  were  present . Little  gatherings  like  this  have 

been  held  for  several  months.  The  believers  and  inquirers 
had  been  brought  together  by  our  alert  evangelist,  Mr. 
Ching.  But  what  to  me  was  the  important  feature  of  this 
particular  Sunday  afternoon  was  the  fact  that  this  service 
was  led  by  our  own  brother  Dykstra.  It  was  the  first  time 
that  he  or  any  member  of  our  mission  in  China  had 
preached  a  full  sermon  in  Chinese.  The  work  has  been 
going  on  for  some  time  through  our  native  evangelist,  but 
this  service  marked  the  beginning  of  the  preaching  of  one 
of  our  own  men.  Only  one  who  has  struggled  with  this 
difficult  language  can  appreciate  what  that  service  meant 
to  us.  He  took  as  his  text  a  clause  from  Acts  4:  13:  ‘They 
took  knowledge  of  them  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus’. 
In  clear,  intelligible  Chinese  he  told  this  handful  of  be¬ 
lievers  and  inquirers  that  following  Jesus  would  bring 
them  power,  but  that  it  would  also  bring  them  persecu¬ 
tion . Brief  mention  will  suffice  for  the  next  service 

of  this  eventful  day.  I  fear  I  might  overestimate  its  sig¬ 
nificance,  since  I  had  the  privilege  of  delivering  the  prin¬ 
cipal  address.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  delivered  a  pre¬ 
pared  speech  in  a  chapel,  and  since  it  was  our  own  chapel, 
in  our  own  Jukao,  it  meant  much  to  me.  It  was  an  evan¬ 
gelistic  service,  and  the  chapel  was  thrown  open  to  all 
who  cared  to  come.  The  building  holds  less  than  a  hun¬ 
dred  people,  but  it  was  well-filled.  I  tried  to  tell  them 


170 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


simply  about  Jesus  as  my  friend  and  as  the  friend  of  all 

sinners . That  night,  as  brother  Dykstra  and  I  talked 

over  the  events  of  the  day,  we  both  felt  thankful  for  the 
day’s  experiences.  We  had  long  looked  forward  to  the 
day  when  we  could  begin  to  preach;  here,  at  last,  was  a 
beginning  of  it.  Well,  within  two  years  from  the  time  that 
we  were  able  to  begin  language  study  in  earnest  we  began 
our  work.  For  that,  too,  we  thanked  God  and  took 
courage.” 

Practical  Mission  Work  , 

From  the  very  beginning  we  sought  to  do  some  prac¬ 
tical  mission  work.  We  all  spoke  in  English  to  the  Chi¬ 
nese  and  asked  some  older  missionary  to  interpret  our 
messages. 

Early  in  1921  Dr.  Lee  S.  Huizenga  was  requested  to 
take  up  the  medical  work  in  Kashing  for  one  year.  The 
Huizenga’s  were  in  Kashing  until  January  1st,  1922,  when 
they  removed  to  Nanking  to  join  the  other  families.  Here 
the  doctor  served  the  University  Hospital  half  days  for 
nine  months  and  studied  the  language  the  other  half  days. 
October  1st,  1922,  he  took  up  the  work  in  Taichow  Hospi¬ 
tal  until  June  23,  1923,  when  he  left  for  Peking  to  spend 
three  months  with  the  Peking  Union  Medical  College. 

Revs.  De  Korne  and  Dykstra  gave  valuable  service  in 
famine  relief  work  during  the  spring  of  1921,  and  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  teaching  classes  of  Chinese  young  men  while 
at  Nanking  and  Taichow.  In  Taichow  Rev.  J.  C.  De  Korne 
began  speaking  to  the  Chinese  on  the  streets  one  afternoon 
a  week.  Many  tracts  were  also  distributed  by  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  to  the  Chinese. 

First  Real  Estate  in  China 

The  17th  of  November,  1922,  marks  the  time  of  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  our  mission  work  in  China  upon  the  territory 
approved  of  by  Synod.  Upon  the  above  date  the  small 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


171 


chapel  at  Jukao  was  officially  taken  over  by  our  mission 
from  the  Southern  Presbyterian  mission  at  Taichow.  An 
appropriate  service  that  evening  marked  our  inauguration 
in  the  work.  The  following  things  were  taken  over  by  us 
at  the  value  indicated,  figured  in  United  States  money : 


16  benches  . 

. U.  S.  Gold 

$  5.67 

6  bamboo  chairs  . 

a 

ii 

1.50 

2  large  tables  . 

99 

tf 

3.00 

2  stone  jars  . 

it 

a 

1.50 

2  lamps  . 

a 

a 

2.75 

1  organ  . 

tt 

a 

2.50 

1  hand  bell  . 

tt 

a 

.50 

1  pulpit  . 

ii 

a 

.25 

2  iron  pans  . 

u 

a 

.50 

Total . 

tt 

tt 

$18.17 

The  total  of  U.  S.  $18.17  certainly  was  not  a  huge  sum 
start  out  work  on.  We  rented  our  first  chapel  at 
$36.00  (Am.)  a  year,  and  paid  our  first  native  evangelist 
$8.00  (Am.)  a  month  for  salary.  Such  were  the  beginnings 
in  Jukao  in  real  mission  work.  The  chapel  at  present  is 
open  every  evening  in  the  week  except  Saturday,  and 
classes  for  inquirers  and  members  are  held  during  the 
week. 

The  first  piece  of  land  was  purchased  in  February, 
1923.  It  is  a  small  tract  of  land  outside  of  the  city,  large 
enough  for  the  homes  of  two  missionary  families.  A  sec¬ 
ond  piece  of  land  was  bought  in  May  following,  and  will 
be  used  for  a  residence  of  the  missionary  physician.  It 
is  inside  the  city  in  order  that  the  physician  may  be  nearer 
the  hospital.  In  August  a  third  piece  of  land,  with  Chinese 
buildings  in  good  state  of  repairs,  were  bought  for  a  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  hospital.  To  this  will  have  to  be  added  later 
on.  All  land  is  bought  to  use  for  an  unlimited  time  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  treaties  made  between  China  and  the 
United  States. 

The  first  single  woman  evangelist  to  come  to  China 
was  Miss  Willemina  Kalsbeek,  arriving  in  Shanghai  Dc- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


173 


cember  31st,  1922,  and  she  proceeded  at  once  to  Nan¬ 
king  for  language  study. 

Miss  Angie  Haan  was  appointed  nurse  for  Jukao  on 
July  19,  1923,  and  sailed  on  the  Japanese  steamer  Tenyo 
Mauro.  She  arrived  in  Shanghai  October  15th,  1923,  to 
go  at  once  to  Nanking  for  her  first  year  language  study. 

Miss  Kalsbeek’s  salary  has  been  pledged  by  the  West 
Side  churches  of  Grand  Rapids,  four  in  number  now  co¬ 
operating,  and  Miss  Haan’s  by  the  Neland  Ave.  congre¬ 
gation  of  Grand  Rapids. 

This  closes  the  first  three  years  of  our  missionary  pio¬ 
neering  in  China.  The  end  of  this  period  sees  all  three 
families  located  in  our  field  in  temporary  quarters,  with 
hopes  of  getting  in  permanent  buildings  soon,  and  our  re¬ 
inforcements  still  in  Namking. 

Plans  for  the  Future 

The  policy  of  the  present  “Mission  to  China”  is  to  do 
intensive  work  and  to  push  the  work  to  the  regions  be¬ 
yond  as  soon  as  we  believe  those  in  the  centre  from  which 
we  proceed  have  adequately  heard  the  gospel.  All  stress 
is  to  be  laid  upon  Evangelistic  work.  Medical  work  and 
school  work  are  only  handmaids  to  the  higher  calling  of 
the  church  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

Since  the  city  of  Jukao  will  for  some  years  be  our  main 
station,  the  mission  plans  to  open  chapels  at  each  gate  on 
or  near  the  main  street.  Jukao  is  a  walled  city  of  between 
50,000  and  100,000  people.  Daily  many  thousands  from 
outside  pass  through  the  city  gates.  Ry  putting  our  chap¬ 
els  near  each  of  the  four  gates,  it  is  possible  to  be  within 
easy  reach  of  all  the  people. 

Rev.  H.  A.  Dykstra  is  responsible  for  our  first  chapel 
in  Jukao,  opened  by  the  Southern  Presbyterians  a  few 
years  ago.  It  is  at  the  north  gate  of  the  city.  Rev.  J.  C. 
De  Korne  is  responsible  for  the  east  gate,  where  he  ex- 


174 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


pects  to  rent  a  building  to  be  used  as  chapel.  The  medical 
work  is  to  be  located  at  the  west  gate.  Since  the  medical 
work  may  develop  into  a  rather  large  hospital,  with  much 
hospital  paraphernalia,  it  was  deemed  wise  to  buy  a  place 
for  an  indefinite  number  of  years,  so  it  would  not  be  nec¬ 
essary  to  move.  The  first  building  of  a  hospital  plant  is 
now  being  prepared  in  a  Chinese  way  to  meet  patients 
during  the  day,  and  to  be  turned  into  a  chapel  at  night. 
Our  aim  for  the  near  future  is  to  open  a  24-bed  hospital 
together  with  the  clinic.  This  will  probably  have  to  be 
enlarged  soon. 

As  to  a  Chinese  staff,  each  missionary  is  allowed  to 
work  out  his  own  policy  under  mission  approval.  Rev. 
Dykstra  has  already  a  Chinese  missionary  helper,  Mr.  C. 
King,  and  will  be  adding  others  as  the  work  increases. 
Rev.  De  Korne  likewise  expects  to  put  a  man  in  the  Jukao 
east  gate  chapel  and  have  others  go  into  the  country.  The 
medical  work  will  require  the  greatest  number  of  native 
helpers,  as  its  method  of  service  varies  greatly  from  the 
evangelistic  work.  From  the  start  one  or  two  Chinese 
doctors  will  be  necessary,  one  probably  for  surgery  and 
the  other  for  medicine.  Two  nurses,  graduated  from  Chi¬ 
nese  hospitals,  will  be  put  in  charge,  a  male  nurse  for  the 
men’s  work  and  a  female  nurse  for  the  female  work. 
Each  of  these  will  have  to  be  assisted  by  helpers  and 
orderlies.  A  laboratory  technician  will  be  necessary  at 
once,  and  a  drug  clerk  as  well.  For  evangelistic  work 
with  the  patients  and  for  chapel  work  in  the  evening,  an 
evangelist  and  a  Bible  woman  will  be  necessary. 

All  the  chapels,  as  well  as  the  clinic,  will  be  open  daily. 
Bible  Study  Classes  and  children’s  work  will  be  organized 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  country  work  can  be  taken  up  as 
rapidly  as  Chinese  or  foreign  evangelists  are  available. 
Women’s  work  will  be  taken  up  by  the  Bible  women  as 
soon  as  it  can  be  arranged.  Miss  W.  Kalsbeek  will  soon 
enter  upon  her  task  as  Evangelist.  Miss  Elizabeth  Byrne, 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


175 


an  English-speaking  Chinese  woman,  trained  in  a  mission 
school,  took  up  the  woman’s  work  in  connection  with 
the  hospital  in  October,  1923. 

It  is  our  policy  to  do  as  much  as  possible  through  the 
Chinese.  The  time  has  come  for  foreigners  to  do  less  and 
for  the  Chinese  Christians  to  do  no  more.  To  prepare  the 
Jukao  Christians  for  a  church  organization  independent  of 
our  church  at  home  is  our  aim.  This  is  in  perfect  har¬ 
mony  with  the  consemsus  of  opinion  of  the  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  body  in  China  as  well  as  the  rapidly  growing  in¬ 
digenous  Chinese  church.  In  Kiangsu  province  the  Pres¬ 
byterian  church  government  is  already  fairly  well  estab¬ 
lished.  There  are  several  Chinese  Presbyterian  churches 
in  Kiangsu,  formifng  presbyteries  and  a  Synod.  To  this 
already  existing  Chinese  church  we  expect  our  Christians 
in  Jukao  to  belong  as  soon  as  they  have  material  enough 
to  organize.  With  the  Lord’s  blessings  we  hope  this 
organization  will  take  place  in  the  near  future. 

Our  present  plans  have  given  little  thought  of  educa¬ 
tional  missio  tnwork,  partly  because  the  public  school  sys¬ 
tem  in  Jukao  is  good,  and  partly  because  the  present  force 
are  all  evangelists.  Cooperation  with  the  Southern  Pres¬ 
byterians  in  the  training  of  native  evangelists  may  soon 
come  up  for  more  careful  consideration. 

The  Future 

How  large  our  missionary  plane  in  Chima  for  the  next 
twenty-  ?five  years  should  be,  is  still  an  open  question.  It 
is  hard  to  predict  the  future  in  China.  For  the  present 
men  can  be  placed  as  fast  as  the  Church  can  send  them. 
At  times  it  seems  as  though  the  Chinese  church  will  be 
sufficiently  awakened  to  her  high  calling  in  the  next  gen¬ 
eration  to  take  up  the  evangelization  of  her  own  country. 
Our  field  also  will  be  affected  by  this  owing  to  its  prox¬ 
imity  to  Shanghai,  one  of  China’s  great  centers.  At  pres¬ 
ent  our  missionaries  are  making  a  serious  study  of  just 


176 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


how  far  we  should  extend  our  missionary  activities  in 
China  with  this  awakened  desire  on  the  part  of  China  to 
be  delivered  from  the  foreign  swaddling  clothes  of  de- 
nominationalism  and  occidental  forms  entirely  foreign  to 
the  Eastern  mind,  and  to  develop  for  herself  an  oriental 
type  of  Christian  church,  conformed  both  with  the  eter¬ 
nal  principles  of  God’s  Word  and  the  Eastern  civilization. 
An  unique  period  it  is  in  China’s  religious  history,  well 
worth  much  study  and  prayer  both  by  our  force  on  the 
field  and  by  the  Church  at  home. 

Lee  S.  Huizenga. 

§8.  THE  MISSION  BOARD  AND  THE  DIRECTOR  OF  MISSIONS 

An  important  factor  in  the  work  of  missions  is  the 
Board  of  Missions,  under  whose  direction  the  work  among 
the  Indians  and  in  China  is  carried  on.  At  first  this  body 
was  known  as  “Committee  for  Missions  to  the  Heathen”, 
and  was  composed  of  the  Home  Mission  Committee  and 
the  treasurer  for  Foreign  Missions,  (Article  114,  Minutes 
of  Synod  of  1886),  but  two  years  later  a  separate  commit¬ 
tee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  the  Revs.^R.  T.  Kuiper, 
E.  Bos,  T.  M.  Vanden  Bosch,  and  the  elders  J.  W.  Garve- 
ling  and  J.  Gelock.  Rules  and  Regulations  governing  this 
body  were  adopted  by  the  same  Synod  of  1388.  Later  each 
Classis  was  represented  on  the  Committee,  till  the  Synod 
of  1910,  which  reduced  the  number  of  delegates  to  five  and 
elected  as  such  the  Revs.  M.  Van  Vessem,  J.  Groen,  H. 
Beets,  H.  Walkotten,  and  J.  Dolfin.  A  new  “Mission  Or¬ 
der”  was  adopted  in  1912.  In  1914  there  was  a  return  to 
the  old  rule  of  having  each  Classis  represented  on  the 
Board,  and  such  continues  till  the  present. 

“Board  of  Heathen  Missions  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church”  is  the  legal  title  of  this  body  whose  ever-increas¬ 
ing  responsibility  entitles  it  to  a  large  place  in  the  prayer¬ 
ful  interest  of  the  Church  of  God. 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


177 


Director  of  Missions.  The  Mission  Board  recommended 
to  the  Synod  of  1912  the  appointment  of  a  “field  secre¬ 
tary”  te  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  cause  of  missions, 
because  the  constantly  increasing  work  demanded  such  a 
functionary  for  its  correspondence  and  financial  interests. 
But  the  proposal  was  defeated  at  the  time.  The  1920  Synod, 
however,  decided  to  appoint  a  “Secretary  of  Missions” 
(Zendings-Directeur),  to  labor  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Board  of  Missions,  of  which  he  shall  be  a  mem¬ 
ber  ex  officio.  His  duties  were  outlined  in  “Rules  and 
Regulations” .  Of  the  Board  he  is  to  be  secretary.  His 
duties  regarding  the  missionaries  are  to  visit  their  fields 
from  time  to  time,  to  counsel  with  them,  and  to  adjust  per¬ 
sonal  relations  between  them.  Regarding  other  mission¬ 
ary  organizations  his  duty  is  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
Home  Missions  Council  and  Foreign  Missions  Conference, 
(Chapter  V,  §5),  and  of  such  of  their  respective  commit¬ 
tees  as  his  work  in  the  interests  of  our  Mission  requires, 
as  well  as  to  place  himself  in  such  personal  contact  with 
our  own  Jewish  and  Home  Mission  organizations  as  will 
enable  him  to  properly  advocate  their  interests.  Duties 
with  reference  to  the  denomination  were  outlined  as  fol¬ 
lows:  “To  visit  as  many  classical  meetings  and  congrega¬ 
tions  as  his  other  duties  allow;  to  enlighten  and  enthuse 
the  people  on  the  subject  of  missions  in  all  its  branches; 
to  stimulate  prayer  for  missions;  the  study  of  mission  lit¬ 
erature;  to  have  Christian  young  men  and  women  conse¬ 
crate  themselves  to  the  cause  of  missions  at  home  and 
abroad;  to  organize,  wherever  deemed  necessary,  Mission¬ 
ary  Societies  and  Mission  Festivals  and  Conferences,  and 
to  present  the  cause  of  Missions  to  these  meetings.  He 
shall  also  write  or  edit  and  advance  the  publication  of 
such  missionary  literature  as  covers  the  entire  field  of  our 
missionary  activities  at  home  and  abroad.  And  since  the 
Church  has  no  general  budget  for  Missions,  he  is  charged 
with  studying  the  financial  problems  of  our  heathen  mis- 


178 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


sion  work  and  to  promote  such  giving,  by  individuals  and 
congregations,  as  will,  with  God’s  blessing,  provide  the 
means  needed  for  our  missionary  undertakings”.  The 
Rev.  H.  Beets  was  chosen  for  this  important  task.  He 
began  his  labors  September  27,  1920. 

§9.  MEANS  TO  AROUSE  A  MISSION  SPIRIT 

A  great  aid  in  the  successful  performance  of  the  many 
duties  required  of  the  Director  of  Missions  will,  no  doubt, 
be  the  carrying  out  of  the  program  to  arouse  a  mission 
spirit  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  1910,  advising  the  churches 
the  following: 

To  preach  missionary  sermons  from  time  to  time. 

To  discuss  the  matter  of  missions  as  much  as  possible 
in  catechetical  classes,  and  by  means  of  quarterly  lessons 
in  the  Sunday  school,  as  well  as  through  systematic  study 
in  the  various  Societies  of  the  churches.  At  public  meet¬ 
ings  the  church-members  are  to  be  labored  with  regarding 
this  matter  and  as  much  as  possible  annual  mission  feasts 
are  to  be  held.  Local  churches  are  to  reach  after  the  ideal 
of  sending  out  and  supporting  missionaries  of  their  own, 
with  systematic  weekly  offerings  for  the  cause. 

May  the  offering  of  sons  and  daughters  for  the  blessed 
work  not  be  forgotten.  And  thanks  be  to  God,  there  is 
encouraging  progress  in  this,  as  the  next  paragraph 
plainly  shows. 

Although  there  remains  much  land  yet  to  be  possessed, 
other  denominations  have  successfully  employed  various 
agencies  and  methods  which  we  may  well  copy,  in  so  far 
as  harmonizing  with  our  principles.  Personal  work  for 
and  by  individuals,  one  winning  one,  has  proved  to  be  a 
great  blessing  in  many  cases,  and  is  a  very  biblical  method 
of  activity.  Andrew  found  Peter,  his  brother,  to  point 
him  to  Christ  and  Philip  found  Nathanael  (John  1:  40-45). 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


179 


The  Sunday  School  should  have  a  missionary  committee 
to  look  for  new  openings  for  mission  work  and  to  arrange 
occasional  missionary  programs.  The  Sunday  School  li¬ 
brary  and  that  of  other  organizations  should  circulate 
plenty  of  good  missionary  literature  for  old  and  young. 
A  missionary  magazine  should  be  read  regularly.  There 
should  be  missionary  societies  of  young  men  and  young 
women,  or  young  people  in  joint  organizations,  as  well  as 
women’s  and  men’s  missionary  societies.  Such  organiza¬ 
tions  will  divide  and  locate  responsibility.  They  will 
enlist  activity,  awaken  enthusiasm,  promote  prayer  for 
and  the  study  of  missions,  provide  opportunity  for  Chris¬ 
tian  service,  and  win  recruits  for  service  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  every  member  canvass  should  not  be  for¬ 
gotten  to  provide  the  “sinews  of  war”.  This  has  for  its 
object  an  offering  every  week  from  every  member  of  the 
church  according  to  ability,  on  the  basis  of  Christian  stew¬ 
ardship,  1  Cor.  16:  2.  In  many  churches  this  canvass  is 
made  annually,  by  special  committees,  whose  activity  is 
preceded  by  special  preparation  and  training,  with 
earnest  prayer.  The  duplex  envelope  system  is  connected 
with  this  plan.  It  means  that  each  Lord’s  day,  as  we  bring 
our  offerings  to  the  Lord’s  house  to  provide  for  our  own 
religious  needs,  we  remember  the  people  still  estranged 
from  our  Lord,  but  whom  we  are  to  love  as  ourselves. 
And  that  love  we  show  by  bringing  them  the  Bread  of  Life 
— through  missions.  Well-to-do  members  should  finance 
“substitutes”  in  the  mission  field.  Many  have  found  tithing 
a  blessed  rule  for  giving,  still  bringing  God’s  blessing  as 
promised  in  Malachi  3:  10.  Have  you  adopted  this  rule 
— how  much  do  you  give  for  missions  each  week — do  you 
try  to  win  souls  and  lives  by  personal  effort — so  we  may 
well  ask  our  readers.  (Cf.  The  Mission  Budget  of  our 
Christian  Reformed  Church,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Dolfin,  The 
Banner ,  January  11,  1923.) 


180 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§10.  THE  STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

This  Movement  which  is  not  without  influence  on  the 
missionary  activities  among  our  people,  is  entitled  to  a 
place  in  these  pages.  It  originated  at  the  first  interna¬ 
tional  conference  of  Christian  College  students  held  at 
Mount  Hermon,  Mass.,  in  1886,  at  the  invitation  of  D.  L. 
Moody.  Of  the  250  delegates  who  attended,  21  had  defi¬ 
nitely  decided  to  become  foreign  missionaries  when  the 
conference  opened.  Before  it  closed  one  hundred  of  those 
present  had  recorded  as  their  “purpose,  if  God  permit,  to 
become  foreign  missionaries”.  Deputations  were  sent  to 
various  colleges,  and  since  then  the  Movement  spread 
throughout  our  land  and  beyond  it.  The  purpose  of  the 
Movement  is  as  follows: 

(1)  To  awaken  and  maintain  among  all  Christian  stu¬ 
dents  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  intelligent 
and  active  interest  in  foreign  missions. 

(2)  To  enroll  a  sufficient  number  of  properly  qualified 
student  volunteers  to  meet  the  successive  demands 
of  the  various  mission  boards  of  North  America. 

(3)  To  help  all  such  intending  missionaries  to  prepare 
for  their  life-work  and  to  enlist  their  cooperation 
in  developing  the  missionary  life  of  home 
churches. 

(4)  To  lay  an  equal  burden  of  responsibility  on  all  stu¬ 
dents  who  are  to  remain  as  ministers  and  lay- 
workers  at  home,  that  they  may  actively  promote 
the  missionary  enterprise  by  their  intelligent  ad¬ 
vocacy,  by  their  gifts  and  by  their  prayers. 

Prior  to  January,  1911,  no  less  than  4,784  volunteers 
had  been  sent  out  as  missionaries  by  over  fifty  different 
missionary  boards  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  More 
than  two-fifths  of  the  sailed  volunteers  are  women.  Sys¬ 
tematic  and  progressive  study  of  missions  is  regularly  pro- 


MISSIONARY  ACTIVITIES 


181 


moted  by  this  Movement  and  various  institutions  of  learn¬ 
ing  contributed  money  for  missionaries  as  well  as  workers. 

March  3, 1915,  a  “Student  Volunteer  Band”  was  organ¬ 
ized  at  Calvin  College,  “with  eyes  open  to  the  needs  of  the 
world,  and  hearts  aglow  with  the  ideal  of  being  sent  out 
into  parts  where  the  Shepherd  who  gave  His  life  for  His 
sheep  is  yet  unknown”.  Nine  students  were  the  charter 
members  of  this  organization.  Some  of  the  members  of 
this  constantly  growing  Band  are  already  abroad.  Others 
are  ready  to  follow.  The  ideals  and  vision  of  this  Band 
are  expressed  in  its  motto:  “Even  unto  the  ends  of  the 
earth”. 

“Go,  heralds  of  salvation,  forth; 

Go,  in  your  heavenly  Master’s  Name; 

From  East  to  West,  from  South  to  North, 

The  glorious  gospel  wide  proclaim. 

“Go  forth  in  faith,  God’s  gospel  take, 

Till  God’s  great  reaping  day  shall  come; 

Then  they  who  sowed  in  tears  shall  wake 
And  hail  the  joyful  harvest  home.” 


“When,  Lord,  to  this  our  western  land 
Led  by  Thy  providential  hand 

Our  wandering  fathers  came, 

They  found  peace  and  prosperity — 
Let,  in  return  for  this,  our  youth 
Go  everywhere  to  preach  Thy  truth! 
And  all  praise  be  to  Thee!” 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  is  understood  by  “Missions”,  on  what  is  the  work 
based,  and  what  is  its  object?  Which  incentives  appeal  the 
strongest  to  you? 

2.  What  can  you  say  about  the  Home  Mission  work  of  the 
Church  as  carried  on  till  1907  under  a  denominational 
Board? 

3.  Why  is  work  among  the  Indians  our  duty? 


182 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


4.  Which  stations  are  occupied  at  present  among  the  Zunies 
and  Navajos? 

5.  What  can  you  say  about  our  Jewish  Mission  work? 

6.  What  do  you  know  of  the  labors  among  immigrants  and 
sailors  and  of  the  evangelization  work? 

7.  What  do  you  know  about  our  China  Mission? 

8.  What  is  the  work  of  the  Mission  Board  and  of  the  Director 
of  Missions? 

9.  Which  program  for  arousing  a  missionary  spirit  was  mapped 
out  by  the  Synod  of  1910?  In  how  far  is  it  carried  out  in 
your  own  congregation? 

10.  What  is  meant  by  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement,  and 
why  should  you  personally  not  “volunteer”  for  the  work? 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

Dr.  E.  Pfeiffer,  “Mission  Studies”. 

Dr.  A.  DeWitt  Mason,  “Outlines  of  Missionary  Studies”. 

Dr.  H.  Beets,  “Triumfen  van  het  Kruis”,  with  introductory  chap¬ 
ter  on  “De  Zending  in  de  Heilige  Schrift”,  by  Dr.  H.  Bavinck. 

Rev.  J.  Dolfin,  “Bringing  the  Gospel  in  Hogan  and  Pueblo”. 
Prof.  L.  Berkhof,  “Paul  the  Missionary”. 

Smaller  books  on  Navahoes  and  Zunies  by  Rev.  H.  Walkotten. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CREED  AND  LITURGY 

Introductory:  Why  a  Creed?  §1.  The  Heidelberg  Catechism. 
§2.  The  Netherlands  Confession  of  Faith.  §3.  The  Canons  of 
Dordrecht.  §4.  The  Liturgy  in  General.  §5.  The  Various 
“Forms”  of  the  Liturgy.  §6.  Liturgical  Improvement  Proposals. 

INTRODUCTORY:  WHY  A  CREED? 

BY  CREED  we  understand  an  official  statement  of  be¬ 
lief.  In  this  Chapter,  principally  devoted  to  the 
Creed  of  the  Church  as  embodied  in  its  doctrinal  stand¬ 
ards,  the  prefatory  qusetion  may  well  be  put: 

“Why  Should  a  Church  Have  a  Creed  at  all?” 

The  cry  of  many  is:  “The  Bible,  and  nothing  but  it,  is 
our  Creed.”  One  group  of  Christians  has  adopted  the  slo¬ 
gan:  “No  Creed  but  Christ”.  Now,  as  to  the  first  state¬ 
ment  about  the  Bible  and  nothing  but  it — as  a  creed,  this 
is  a  misleading  motto.  All  true  Chrstians  hold  the  Bible 
to  be  God’s  inspired  revelation.  It  is  for  all  who  fear  God 
truly  “the  Book  of  fundamentals”.  All  essential,  creedal 
statements  are  supposed  to  be  derived  from  its  sacred 
pages,  built  upon  its  utterances.  But  the  Bible,  while  very 
plain  as  to  the  essentials  of  religion,  is  very  deep,  as  a 
mine  often  is,  and  no  wonder.  It  really  is  a  divine  library 
of  not  less  than  sixty-six  different  books.  And  the  bone  of 
contention  has  always  been,  “what  saitli  the  Scripture ”  on 
this  or  that  subject?  The  point  of  dispute  between  God’s 
children  has  never  been :  is  the  Bible  inspired,  fundamen¬ 
tal,  authoritative.  But  the  difficulty  has  always  come  in 
when  people  tried  to  interpret  its  statements  and  system¬ 
atize  its  different  utterances.  When  groups  of  people 
claim  that  they  teach  nothing  but  what  the  Bible  teaches, 
they  are  not  alone  unfair  in  their  implication  of  what 


184 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


other  orthodox  churches  do,  but  they  mislead  as  well. 
Their  interpretation  of  the  Bible  is  then  flaunted  as  the 
only  genuine,  and  identified  by  them  with  the  Word  of 
God  itself — a  very  presumptuous  thing  to  do.  God  has 
given  no  particular  denomination  an  exclusive  patent  on 
divine  truth  nor  a  monopoly  in  infallible  Bible  interpreta¬ 
tion.  It  requires,  in  the  deepest  sense,  “ all  the  saints' ’  to 
apprehend  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  height  and 
depth,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  * 
knowledge,  Eph.  3 :  18,  19.  And  that  “all  the  saints”  not 
simply  of  one  age  or  of  one  country,  but  of  all  ages  and  of 
all  lands  and  races.  So  wonderfully  rich  is  the  truth  of 
God  in  Christ. 

The  slogan,  “No  Creed  but  Christ”  also  is  misleading, 
whatsoever  way  it  is  taken.  Christ  Himself  involves  a 
“creed”,  about  His  deity,  His  relation  to  the  Trinity,  His 
human  nature,  atonement,  resurrection,  etc.  And  none  of 
those  important  things  can  be  separated  from  other  corre¬ 
lated  facts  embodied  in  precious  doctrines.  Christology  is 
not  the  whole  of  theology  nor  can  it  stand  apart.  God’s 
truths  are  a  chain  of  many  links;  we  cannot  separate  them 
at  will.  Moreover,  in  groups  of  churches  claiming  to  have 
no  creed,  there  is,  after  all,  something  of  the  sort,  a  “con¬ 
sensus”  of  opinions  of  the  founders  and  leaders,  an  “un¬ 
written  creed”,  a  traditional  one — something  at  times 
harmful  in  its  effects  because  an  unscrupulous  or  fanat¬ 
ical  majority  can  twist  and  whip  such  an  unwritten  creed 
in  a  very  tyrannical  way. 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church  has  a  written  creed. 
And  it  has  good  reasons  for  this.  The  first  reason  is  be¬ 
cause  its  standards  form  something  of  a  compendium  or 
digest  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible,  a  resume  of  its  lead¬ 
ing  contents.  The  Bible,  as  already  mentioned,  is  very 
large  and  many-sided.  Our  minds  cannot  comprehend 
and  systematize  all  of  its  utterances.  Therefore  we  con¬ 
sider  our  creed  a  bird’s-eye  view  of  the  great  doctrines  of 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


185 


grace,  furnishing  us  something  of  an  “analogy  of  faith”,  a 
standard  to  measure  opinions  by  as  these  are  being  for¬ 
mulated  during  the  course  of  the  years.  Such  a  resume 
has  been  made  from  the  earliest  times,  so  that  we  are  fol¬ 
lowing  a  good  precedent.  Hebrews  8 :  1  speaks  of  a  “sum¬ 
ming  up”,  (Dutch,  “hoofdsom”)  of  the  things  covered  by 
the  writer,  and  in  Ephesians  4 :  5  Paul  gives  a  resume  of 
the  great  truths  he  stood  for:  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  and  one  God  and  Father  of  all.  In  line  with  this 
Bible  precedent  in  the  course  of  time  the  Apostles *  Creed 
grew  up,  completed  in  its  present  form  about  500,  and  the 
other  ecumenical  creeds,  part  of  the  common  heritage  of 
the  one  Catholic  Church  of  God  of  which  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  is  a  branch.  Ecumenical  signifies  general, 
that  is,  pertaining  to  the  entire  Christian  Church.  The 
Nicene  Creed  is  the  first  and  oldest  of  these  ecumenical 
creeds,  thus  called  after  Nicea  in  Asia  Minor,  where  a 
great  Council  was  held  in  325.  This  Creed  refutes  the 
Arians  who  denied  the  deity  of  Christ.  At  the  Nicene 
Council  great  influence  was  exerted  by  a  young  deacon 
from  Alexandria,  Athanasius,  after  whom  a  second  ecu¬ 
menical  creed  is  named,  one  devoted  mainly  to  an  expo¬ 
sition  and  defense  of  the  holy  Trinity.  A  third  ecumenical 
creed  of  considerable  importance  is  the  one  formulated  in 
451,  at  Chalcedon,  after  which  city  in  Asia  Minor  it  is 
called.  It  defines  the  relation  between  the  natures  of  our 
Lord. 

The  second  reason  for  having  a  written  Creed  is  that  it 
may  serve  as  a  bond  of  union  and  fellowship  of  like- 
minded  followers  of  Christ.  For  that  reason  the  Dutch 
fathers  often  called  their  standards  “formulas  of  unity”, 
while  others  spoke  of  “articles  of  concord”.  A  third  rea¬ 
son  for  the  formulation  of  Confessions  has  at  times  been 
the  need  of  furnishing  outsiders,  particularly  govern¬ 
ments,  with  official  statements  of  what  was  really  believed 
by  the  group  of  believers,  in  the  face  of  calumny  which 


186 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


provoked  persecution,  or  to  prove  that  all  could  not  be 
charged  with  the  extreme  views  possibly  held  by  a  few. 
The  fourth  reason  for  having  a  written  creed  has  resulted 
from  activity  of  people  inside  the  Church,  propagating 
views  undermining  fundamentals  or  drawing  pernicious 
inferences,  so  that  re-statements  were  needed,  or  more 
careful  defining  and  elaborating.  This  last  reason  accounts 
particularly  for  the  formulation  of  the  Canons  of  Dord¬ 
recht,  §3  below.  The  third  reason  had  considerable  to  do 
with  the  writing  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  §1,  and  the 
second  and  first  apply  to  some  extent  to  the  publication  of 
the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  §2. 

Finally,  a  written  creed  renders  service  as  a  standard 
of  orthodoxy  for  preachers  and  teachers  of  a  given  denom¬ 
ination.  For  that  reason  a  “formula  of  subscription ”  has 
been  provided  by  the  Church  of  the  Fathers,  see  Article 
53  of  the  Church  Order,  to  be  subscribed  to  solemnly.  It 
expresses  belief  in  the  articles  and  points  of  doctrine  of 
the  standards  as  fully  agreeing  with  the  Word  of  God,  the 
teaching  and  defense  of  them,  and  the  rejecting  of  errors 
militating  against  these  doctrines.  In  case  difficulties  or 
different  sentiments  regarding  them  should  arise  in  the 
mind,  these  are  not  to  be  proposed,  taught  or  defended  in 
public  until  first  revealed  and  submitted  to  the  consistory, 
Classis  or  Synod. 


A  creed,  therefore,  instead  of  deserving  to  be  decried 
as  a  mere  human  invention,  a  galling  chain  of  the  mind, 
etc.,  ought  to  be  valued  highly.  Not,  of  course,  that  it 
should  be  considered  the  equal  of  the  Bible,  or  a  substi¬ 
tute  for  it.  The  Word  of  God  is  both  the  source  and  the 
foundation  of  the  Creed:  Appeal  from  the  latter  to  the 
former  is  permissible  and  may  at  times  be  a  matter  of 
duty.  The  Scriptures  alone  are  infallible;  Standards  bear 
the  earmark  of  human  limitations.  Additions  to  them 
are  needed  from  time  to  time,  as  new  treasures  are  dug 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


187 


up  in  the  mine  of  the  Word,  or,  to  quote  Robinson  once 
more,  as  new  light  “breaks  forth”  from  its  pages.  The 
creed  is  not  or  should  not  be  a  petrofact  but  a  living, 
growing  organism.  Re-statement  as  well  as  enlargement 
of  the  creed  may  even  be  necessary.  Rut — and  that  is 
very  important,  revision  should  always  follow  the  histor¬ 
ical  line  of  development  revealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  and 
through  the  Church  as  centuries  rolled  onward.  It  should 
never  be  revolutionary,  overthrowing  the  old  foundations 
to  erect  new  structures  from  the  bottom  up.  Such  would 
be  a  practical  denial  that  God  fulfilled  His  promise  of  the 
Spirit’s  guiding  into  all  truth,  according  to  John  16:  13. 
“Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid, 
which  is  Jesus  Christ”,  (I  Cor.  3:  11);  “Being  built  upon 
the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus 
Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone”  (Eph.  2:20.) 

§1.  THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM  1 

The  first  of  our  doctrinal  standards,  as  printed  in  our 
Psalters,  is  “The  Catechism,  or  Method  of  Instruction  in 
the  Christian  religion  as  the  same  is  taught  in  the  Re¬ 
formed  Churches  and  Schools  in  Holland  and  in  America.” 
This  is  a  very  highly-valued  work  wherever  Reformed 
people  of  Dutch  stock  are  found.  Yet  it  is  not  of  Holland, 
but  of  German  origin.  Its  birthplace  is  the  city  of  Heidel¬ 
berg  in  the  Palatinate,  after  which  famous  town  it  is 
known  the  world  over.  There  its  first  edition  appeared  in 
the  year  1563.  Its  third  edition,  the  one  in  common  use, 
dates  from  the  same  year. 

Authors  of  this  Catechism  were  two  young  German  di¬ 
vines,  well-acquainted  with  the  Reformed  churches  of 
their  day,  not  alone  of  their  native  land,  but  also  of  Swit¬ 
zerland  and  France.  Both  suffered  persecution  for  the 
sake  of  their  Reformed  faith. 

Zacharius  Ursinus  was  the  chief  one  of  the  Catechism 


188 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


authors.  Born  at  Breslau,  1534,  a  student  at  various  uni¬ 
versities,  acquainted  with  the  reformers  Melanchthon, 
Calvin  and  others,  he  was  professor  at  Heidelberg  from 
1561  to  1576.  He  died  in  1583.  He  was  a  man  of  profound 
learning,  with  a  rare  gift  of  teaching  and  of  fervent  piety. 
Ursinus  was  aided  in  his  work  of  writing  the  Catechism 
by  Casper  Olevianus,  born  at  Treves,  1536.  He  had  studied 
the  ancient  languages  at  Paris  and  other  places,  and  theol¬ 
ogy  at  Geneva  and  Zurich,  these  last  being  great  centers  of 
Reformed  learning  at  the  time.  At  Heidelberg,  since  1560, 
he  taught  theology  there  and  preached  at  court.  He,  like 
Ursinus,  left  Heidelberg  in  1576,  and  died  in  1585.  Olevi¬ 
anus  was  inferior  to  Ursinus  in  learning,  but  his  superior 
in  preaching  and  in  church  government. 

Others  of  less  renown  aided  these  men,  even  as  they 
built  their  Catechism  of  material  found  in  other  books  of 
the  kind.  But  the  names  of  these  two  godly  men,  Ursinus 
and  Olevianus,  are  inseparably  bound  up  with  our  Cate¬ 
chism  as  well  as  the  name  of  a  third  man,  the  one  at 
whose  court  Olevianus  preached.  We  refer  to  the  elector 
or  ruler  of  the  Palatinate  of  which  Heidelberg  was  the 
capital,  Frederick  the  Pious  (1515 — 1576),  one  of  the 
noblest  characters  of  history,  and  as  his  popular  name  in¬ 
dicates,  a  man  of  godliness.  He  had  Ursinus  and  Olevi¬ 
anus  draw  up  the  book  to  instruct  the  people  of  his  do¬ 
main  in  the  fundamentals  of  the  Christian  religion  as  he 
had  embraced  them  in  their  Reformed  presentation  as 
distinct  from  the  Lutheran. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  from  the  very  beginning  be¬ 
came  a  very  popular  work.  Next  to  the  Bible,  the  Imita¬ 
tion  of  Christ  by  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and  Bunyan’s  Pil¬ 
grim's  Progress ,  no  book,  it  has  been  stated,  has  been  more 
frequently  translated  and  more  widely  distributed  and 
used.  It  has  been  generally  acknowledged  as  a  master¬ 
piece  in  its  line,  unsurpassed  for  depth,  comfort,  and 
beauty,  representing  Christianity  in  its  evangelical,  prac- 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


189 


tical,  cheering  aspect,  not  as  a  commanding  law,  intellec¬ 
tual  scheme,  system  of  outward  observance,  but  as  God’s 
great  gift  to  man,  as  a  source  of  peace  and  comfort  in  life 
and  in  death.  Its  first  question  and  answer  is  the  whole 
gospel  in  a  nutshell.  Blessed  are  all  who  truly  know  its 
precious  meaning. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  following  the  order  of 
Paul’s  epistle  to  the  Romans,  is  divided  into  three  main 
parts.  After  the  first  two  introductory  questions,  we  find 
Questions  T — 11  setting  forth  how  great  our  sins  and  mis¬ 
eries  are  (Lord’s  Days  II — IV).  The  second  part,  Ques¬ 
tions  12 — 85,  treats  of  our  redemption  (Lord’s  Days  Y — - 
XXXI),  and  the  concluding  portion,  Questions  86 — 129, 
(Lord’s  Days  XXXII — LII),  is  devoted  to  the  gratitude  the 
redeemed  are  to  show.  The  second  part  is  by  far  the 
largest,  and  contains  an  explanation  of  the  Apostle’s 
Creed  under  the  three  heads  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  doctrine  of  the  sacraments,  a 
much-discussed  subject  in  Reformation  days,  has  several 
Questions  devoted  to  it.  The  third  part  expounds  the  Ten 
Commandments  of  Exodus  20  as  a  rule  of  obedience,  as 
well  as  the  Lord’s  Prayer.  An  epitome  of  the  Decalogue 
as  a  means  of  teaching  us  how  great  our  sins  and  miseries 
are,  is  found  in  the  first  part  of  the  Catechism.  This  three¬ 
fold  division  corresponds  to  the  order  of  religious  life  in 
practical  experience,  and  to  the  three  leading  ideas  of  re¬ 
pentance,  faith,  and  love.  Several  of  its  answers  are  ac¬ 
knowledged  gems,  such  as  the  definition  of  faith,  provi¬ 
dence,  the  significance  of  the  name  “Christian”,  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  the  ascension,  justification  by  faith,  and  others.  The 
length  of  some  answers  as  well  as  the  extensive  treatment 
of  the  sacraments  have  been  considered  faults  to  be  reme¬ 
died,  the  former  leading  to  various  attempts  at  abbrevia¬ 
ting,  particularly  in  the  case  of  the  “Compendium”,  of  the 
Rev.  H.  Faukelius,  dating  from  1608,  a  very  popular 
abridgment  of  the  Catechism  whose  use  was  permitted 


190 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


by  the  Synod  of  Dordt,  1618-1619.  Since  centuries  it  has 
been  printed  along  with  the  standards.  See  Chapter  IX,  §4. 

In  the  Church  of  our  Fathers  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
soon  found  a  hearty  welcome  after  Dathenus  had  trans¬ 
lated  it  and  published  it,  in  1566,  in  connection  with  his 
Psalter,  see  §5.  An  English  edition  appeared  in  1591.  In 
1764  the  Rev.  L.  De  Ronde’s  English  translation  was  pub¬ 
lished  in  New  York,  and  three  years  later  its  revised  edi¬ 
tion,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  church 
of  New  York.  This  translation  was  gone  over  and  revised 
by  a  committee  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Synod,  and 
finally  approved  in  1912. 

The  Netherland  Reformed  churches  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  adopted  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  as  an  authorita¬ 
tive  standard,  requiring  subscription  to  it  as  well  as  expo¬ 
sition  of  it,  and  from  them  the  book  has  come  down  to  us, 
as  one  of  the  three  formulas  of  unity ,  expounded  regularly 
in  the  form  of  sermons,  see  Chapter  IX,  §3. 

§2.  THE  NETHERLANDS  CONFESSION  OF  FAITH 

The  second  one  of  the  three  standards  of  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church,  printed  as  a  rule  back  of  the  Cate¬ 
chism,  but  antedating  it  by  a  few  years,  is  the  Netherland 
Confession  of  Faith,  frequently  known  as  the  Belgic  Con¬ 
fession,  a  name  connected  with  its  origin  in  the  Southern 
Netherlands.  Its  author  was  a  Belgian,  Guy  de  Bray 
(Guido  de  Bres),  born  at  Mons  (Bergen)  in  Hainault,  1522. 
De  Bray  had  been  converted  to  the  Reformed  faith  about 
the  year  1547  and  became  a  fervent  preacher  of  the  “new” 
religion,  driven  from  place  to  place.  In  the  year  1567  he 
was  apprehended  by  the  Spaniards  then  persecuting  the 
believers  in  the  Netherlands  and  thrown  into  a  miserable 
dungeon.  But  the  faith  he  displayed  in  his  captivity  was 
as  remarkable  as  that  shown  while  at  liberty.  To  a  visitor 
he  remarked  that  the  noise  made  by  his  chains  was  like 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


191 


sweet  music  in  his  ears,  because  he  bore  them  for  the  sake 
of  the  Word  of  God.  He  died  bravely  as  a  martyr,  May  31, 
1567,  being  hung  at  Valenciennes. 

Already  as  early  as  1559  de  Bray  had  made  a  draft  of 
several  articles  of  the  Reformed  religion.  He  consulted 
several  leading  men  in  the  final  preparation  of  the  Con¬ 
fession,  which  somewhat  follows  that  of  the  French  Con¬ 
fession  of  Faith  of  which  Calvin  was  the  chief  author. 
Published  in  the  French  language  in  1561,  the  next  year 
a  Dutch  translation  of  it  appeared,  approved  by  the  Synod 
of  the  Hague  in  1583,  and  later  somewhat  revised  by  the 
Dordrecht  Synod  of  1618-1619.  From  the  very  beginning 
this  Confession  was  accepted  by  the  Church  of  our  Fa¬ 
thers  as  an  adequate  and  satisfactory  exposition  of  the 
chief  doctrines  of  grace,  and  subscription  to  it  was  re¬ 
quired  from  the  preachers  and  teachers  of  the  Reformed 
Churches. 

From  our  ancestors  this  standard  has  come  down  to  us, 
and  except  for  a  slight  change  in  the  closing  sentences  of 
Article  36  (Chapter  V,  §6),  it  is  held  by  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  as  an  authoritative  confessional  writing. 
Its  thirty-seven  articles  may  be  subdivided  into  six  groups. 
The  first  group  covers  the  doctrine  of  God  and  His  works, 
including  articles  on  the  Bible,  Articles  1 — 13.  The  doc¬ 
trine  of  man,  including  the  Election  dogma,  forms  the  sec¬ 
ond  group,  Articles  14—17.  The  third  group,  Articles  18 — 
21,  covers  the  doctrine  of  Christ;  the  fourth.  Articles  22 — 
26,  treats  of  the  doctrine  of  salvation:  faith,  justification, 
sanctification,  and  good  works,  the  abolishing  of  the  cere¬ 
monial  law  and  Christ’s  intercession.  The  fifth  group  dis¬ 
cusses  the  Church  and  its  sacraments  and  the  views  held 
concerning  the  magistrates,  (Articles  27 — 36) ,  while  the  last 
chapter  contains  a  brief  but  impressive  discussion  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  last  things,  under  the  heading,  “The  Last 
Judgment”.  As  to  the  English  translation  of  this — what 
we  wrote  under  the  heading  on  the  Catechism  applies  also 


192 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


to  the  Belgic  Confession.  While  not  as  popular  as  the  Hei¬ 
delberg  standard,  the  Confession  is  a  noble  document, 
and  its  careful  study  repays  any  one  who  devotes  prayer¬ 
ful  attention  to  its  contents. 

§3.  THE  CANONS  OF  DORDRECHT 

This  is  the  third  one  of  the  standards  of  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church.  It  is  the  youngest  of  the  three.  While 
the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  born  in  a  time  of  struggle 
with  Rome  and  Lutheranism,  and  the  Belgic  Confession 
during  the  bloody  days  of  persecution,  in  mortal  combat 
with  the  Roman  Church,  aided  by  Spanish  oppressors, 
while  anabaptist  perversion  of  truth  greatly  endangered 
the  movement  of  the  Reformed  Reformation,  the  Canons 
of  Dordt  were  formulated  during  days  of  great  internal 
strife.  In  the  opening  years  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in 
fact  already  during  the  closing  decade  of  its  predecessor, 
certain  views  had  been  advocated  by  men  of  the  Reformed 
Church  who  were  led  by  James  Arminius,  who  from  1602 
to  1609  was  professor  of  theology  at  the  University  of 
Leyden,  and  after  whom  his  partisans  have  been  called 
Arminians.  In  the  year  1610  certain  of  the  Arminian 
leaders  formulated  a  series  of  articles  called  the  “Remon- 
strantie”  (Remonstrance).  The  “Remonstrance”  showed 
that  its  signers  departed  from  the  received  Reformed  doc¬ 
trines  on  five  important  points.  They  believed  that  God’s 
decree  of  Election  (Article  XVI  of  the  Confession),  was 
based  on  foreseen  faith,  that  the  Atonement  was  general, 
that  man  accepts  the  Gospel  according  to  his  own  arbi¬ 
trary  choice,  that  God’s  grace  is  resistible,  and  that  a  be¬ 
liever  may  fall  from  grace.  After  much  agitation  and  civil 
strife  a  Synod  was  convened  to  settle  the  matter.  Repre¬ 
sentatives  of  Reformed  Churches  abroad  were  delegated 
as  well  as  leading  ministers  and  professors  of  the  Nether- 
land  Church.  Sessions  were  begun  November  13,  1618,  in 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


193 


the  city  of  Dordrecht,  after  which  this  national,  and  in  fact 
to  some  extent,  Ecumenical  Synod,  was  named.  During 
the  middle  of  January,  1619,  the  “Canons”  were  finished 
and  the  foreign  delegates  left,  but  the  Dutch  representa¬ 
tives  held  twenty-seven  more  sessions  to  revise  the  Con¬ 
fession  of  Faith  and  the  Catechism,  as  well  as  the  Church 
Order  (Chapter  X,  §5).  Canon  signifies  a  “rule”.  Five  of 
these  were  formulated,  covering  the  points  of  the  Remon¬ 
strance  already  named. 

The  first  head  of  doctrine  contained  in  the  first 
“Canon”  is  about  “Divine  Predestination”,  showing  that 
Election  is  not  based  on  foreseen  faith,  but  on  God’s  sov¬ 
ereign  choice. 

The  second  Canon  on  “The  Death  of  Christ  and  the 
Redemption  of  Men  thereby”,  teaches  that  the  Atonement 
is  not  general,  as  the  Arminians  taught,  but  limited.  While 
the  atoning  merits  of  Christ  were  in  value  abundantly  suf¬ 
ficient  to  expiate  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  it  was  the 
sovereign  purpose  of  God  the  Father  that  the  quickening 
and  saving  efficacy  of  Christ’s  death  should  extend  only  to 
the  elect,  men  out  of  every  people,  tribe,  nation,  and  lan¬ 
guage.  The  third  and  fourth  heads  of  doctrine  or  Canons 
are  combined  in  one  chapter  on  “the  Corruption  of  Man, 
his  Conversion  to  God,  and  the  Manner  thereof.”  It  is 
shown  from  Holy  Writ  that  man  has  not  the  “free  will”  of 
arbitrary  choice  attributed  to  him  by  the  Arminians,  since 
he  is  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  In  Conversion  the  grace 
of  God  triumphs  effectively  over  all  opposition,  the  effi¬ 
cacy  of  the  regenerating  Spirit  pervading  the  inmost  re¬ 
cesses  of  the  man,  opening  the  closed  and  softening  the 
hardened  heart,  infusing  new  qualities  in  the  will, 
“Whereupon  the  will  thus  renewed,  is  not  only  actuated 
and  influenced  by  God,  but  in  consequence  of  this  influ¬ 
ence,  becomes  itself  active.  Wherefore  also,  man  is  him¬ 
self  rightly  said  to  believe  and  repent,  by  virtue  of  that 


194 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


grace  received”  The  fifth  Canon  on  “the  Perseverance  of 
the  Saints”,  shows  from  the  Bible  that  those  truly  born  of 
God  do  not  fall  from  grace  utterly,  as  the  Arminians 
taught,  but  in  the  power  of  God  are  kept  unto  salvation. 
Each  of  these  five  Canons  is  divided  into  two  sets  of  para¬ 
graphs.  The  first  sets  forth  positively  the  Reformed  con¬ 
ception  of  the  doctrines  involved;  the  second  set  contains 
the  “Rejections  of  the  Remonstrant  Errors.” 

In  the  “Conclusion”  added  to  the  Canons  they  are 
called  a  “perspicuous,  simple  and  ingenious  declaration  of 
the  orthodox  doctrine”,  “drawn  from  the  Word  of  God, 
agreeable  to  the  Confessions  of  the  Reformed  Churches”, 
and  the  Synod  exhorted  “all  their  brethren  in  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  to  conduct  themselves  piously  and  religiously  in 
handling  this  doctrine,  to  the  glory  of  the  divine  Name,  to 
holiness  of  life  and  to  the  consolation  of  afflicted  souls.” 
May  we  ever  be  able  to  hold  and  uphold  the  deep  truths 
embodied  in  these  Canons,  in  the  spirit  of  that 
exhortation. 


§4.  THE  LITURGY  IN  GENERAL 

Liturgy  pertains  to  public  worship.  In  the  conduct  of 
this  certain  “forms”  or  fixed  formulas  came  into  use,  al¬ 
most  from  the  earliest  years  of  the  history  of  the  Church. 
During  the  Middle  Ages  by  the  term  “Liturgy”  was  under¬ 
stood  the  description  of  the  order  in  which  public  worship 
took  place.  The  Roman  and  Greek  Churches  made  much 
of  all  kinds  of  ceremonial  actions,  many  of  them  copied 
from  the  temple  service  of  the  Old  Testament.  And  these 
ceremonies  were  all  centered  round  about  “Mass”  as  the 
chief  part  of  divine  services.  The  Lutherans  retained 
considerable  of  this  old  ritual,  but  the  Reformed  Reforma¬ 
tion  broke  with  it  radically.  The  Word  of  God  was  made 
the  center.  What  precedes  the  preaching  of  that  Word 
leads  up  to  that,  forming  the  transition  from  the  earthly  to 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


195 


the  spiritual.  That  what  follows  the  presentation  of  the 
Word,  again  forms  a  transition,  namely,  from  the  procla¬ 
mation  of  grace  to  life  which  is  to  be  sanctified  by  the 
Word.  The  essence  of  public  worship  is  that  of  a  meeting 
of  God  with  His  people.  The  minister  of  the  Word  serves 
as  the  intermediary  in  this.  Consequently  his  function  is 
twofold.  As  the  Lord’s  spokesman  he  reads  and  preaches 
the  Word,  administers  the  sacraments,  and  blesses  the 
people.  He  serves  as  the  mouth  of  the  people  of  God  in 
confessing  sin,  in  imploring  His  mercies,  in  praising  His 
Name.  In  the  service  of  song  and  in  the  offering  of  gifts 
the  congregation  of  the  Lord  approaches  God  directly. 

Voices  have  been  raised  more  than  once  to  allow  the 
Church  a  larger  part  in  the  service,  see  §6  below. 

The  purpose  of  public  worship  is  primarily  to  serve 
and  magnify  the  Triune  Covenant  Jehovah,  but  secondar¬ 
ily  the  edification  of  His  people,  that  it  may  be  enabled  to 
know,  love  and  serve  God  better. 

To  avoid  arbitrariness,  to  present  confusion,  to  pro¬ 
mote  harmony  and  to  bring  out  to  some  extent  the  oneness 
of  the  Reformed  churches,  certain  prayers  and  formularies 
slowly  on  came  into  general  use  in  public  worship.  The 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  our  fathers,  which  embodies 
these,  was  chiefly  born  in  three  cities :  Zurich  and  Geneva 
in  Switzerland,  the  hearth  and  home  of  the  Reformed  Re¬ 
formation,  and  London,  at  one  time  the  haven  of  refuge  of 
our  persecuted  ancestors.  Its  various  parts  were  collected 
and  arranged  by  Petrus  Dathenus,  already  named  in 
Chapter  I,  §2.  See  also  Chapter  IX,  §2.  Dathenus’  liturg¬ 
ical  collection,  first  published  in  1566,  contained  a  number 
of  Prayers  which  have  fallen  into  disuse  among  us  and 
have  not  been  made  a  part  of  our  American  liturgy.  Rut 
the  Forms  which  Dathenus  published  have  come  down  to 
us  although  not  in  their  original  form,  and  a  number  of 
other  formularies  were  added  later  on  as  we  shall  see 
presently. 


196 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§5.  THE  VARIOUS  “FORMS”  OF  THE  LITURGY 

The  first  “Form”  printed  in  our  Psalters  under  the 
heading  “Liturgy”  is  the  one  “For  the  Administration  of 
Baptism.”  It  consists  of  three  sections:  a  general  intro¬ 
duction  about  the  three  “principal  parts  of  the  doctrine  of 
holy  Baptism”;  then  a  section  devoted  “to  Infants  of  Be¬ 
lievers”,  and  finally  one  for  administering  the  sacrament 
“to  Adult  Persons”.  Various  forms  have  been  used  in  the 
compilation  of  this  important  part  of  our  liturgy.  But  in 
the  main  it  can  be  said  that  Petrus  Dathenus  arranged  the 
part  devoted  to  Infant  Baptism,  while  that  for  Adults  dates 
from  1610.  The  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  1618-1619,  revised 
this  Form  to  assume  the  shape  it  bears  today. 

In  the  course  of  the  centuries  a  number  of  ministers 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  Netherlands  changed  cer¬ 
tain  parts  to  harmonize  with  their  own  doctrinal  views, 
principally  in  regard  to  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  A  number 
of  preachers  in  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  Holland 
as  well  as  in  America  formerly  avoided  the  use  of  the 
prayers  which  are  part  of  the  Form  of  Infant  Baptism. 
But  the  Church  Order,  as  well  as  various  synodical  deliv¬ 
erances,  declare  the  employment  of  the  Form  in  its  en¬ 
tirety  to  be  obligatory.  It  is  the  property  of  the  whole 
Church,  embodying  its  official  doctrines,  and  no  individual 
minister  has  the  right  of  altering  it  to  suit  his  individual 
views. 

This  obligatory  use,  on  the  same  grounds,  applies  to  the 
second  “Form”  of  our  Liturgy,  “For  the  Administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper”.  Dathenus  also  compiled  this,  using 
various  older  formularies,  principally,  in  this  case,  that 
employed  in  the  Palatinate,  the  home  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism.  Both  of  these  time-honored  Forms  are  noble, 
edifying,  and  instructive  compilations,  full  of  encourage¬ 
ment  in  the  battle  of  life.  Their  length,  however,  has  met 
with  objection,  particularly  that  of  the  Communion  for- 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


197 


mula,  the  pearl  of  the  collection,  which  ought  to  be  used  in 
full  at  each  communion  service,  something  which  requires 
too  much  time.  A  simplified  edition  of  the  sacramental 
form  for  use  in  the  Mission  field  of  the  Church,  was  ap¬ 
proved  by  Synod  of  1912.  Let  us  add  here  that  these  for¬ 
mularies  are  designed  for  use  during  public  worship.  The 
sacramental  service  is  a  part  of  the  divine  service  whose 
center,  as  we  saw,  is  the  Word.  The  sacraments  are  God’s 
seal  upon  the  testimony  of  Holy  Writ  concerning  His 
Covenant  mercies.  Therefore  these  two  ought  not  to  be 
separated. 

The  Forms  of  Baptism  and  Communion,  sacramental 
formularies,  are  in  our  Psalter  followed  by  two  which  are 
of  a  disciplinary  character.  We  refer  to  the  “Form  of  Ex- 
communication  and  the  “Form  of  Readmitting  Excom¬ 
municated  Persons Both  of  these,  in  their  present  form, 
originated  in  the  action  of  the  Synod  held  in  The  Hague 
in  1586.  The  former’s  solemn  and  biblical  declarations 
ought  to  fill  the  heart  with  terror  unto  repentance,  and  the 
latter  should  pour  the  balm  of  consolation  into  the  contrite 
soul  unto  belief  in  God’s  restoring  mercy.  The  same  Synod 
of  The  Hague  just  named  was  sponsor  to  the  third  pair  of 
Forms — those  devoted  to  installation  or  ordination  of  the 
ordinary  office-bearers  of  the  Church.  The  “Form  of 
Ordination  of  the  Ministers  of  God’s  Word”  is  full  of 
solemn  Scriptural  teaching  on  the  work  involved,  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  its  companion,  “Form  of  Ordination 
of  Elders  and  Deacons”.  No  office-bearer  who  carefully 
and  prayerfully  studies  the  contents  of  these  Forms  will 
fail  to  be  benefited  immensely  by  this,  and  the  Church  of 
God  will  do  well  from  time  to  time  to  read  these  forms, 
which  are  not  alone  setting  forth  the  obligations  and  re¬ 
sponsibilities  which  the  ministers  and  elders  and  deacons 
assume,  but  also  the  congregations  whose  representatives 
they  were  chosen  to  be. 


198 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Of  far  more  recent  origin  than  any  of  the  Forms  hither¬ 
to  named,  is  the  fourth  pair  of  forms:  those  “For  the  In¬ 
stallation  of  Professors  of  Theology’ ’  and  for  the  “ Ordina¬ 
tion  of  Missionaries” .  The  first  one  has  the  distinction  of 
having  an  American  minister  as  its  compiler,  the  Rev. 
G.  D.  De  Jong,  who  drew  it  up  in  1894.  The  Form  for  the 
Ordination  of  Missionaries  is  of  Netherland  origin  in  so 
far  as  the  introduction  is  concerned,  the  concluding 
charge,  and  the  part  devoted  to  “missionaries  to  the 
heathen”.  Dr.  H.  Beuker  had  considerable  to  do  with  its 
compilation,  approved  by  the  Chr.  Ref.  Synod  of ’s  Herto- 
genbosch,  1875,  and  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Churches,  1902.  The  section  devoted  to  home  missionaries 
is  of  American  origin,  first  appearing  in  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  Order  volume,  published  in  1905,  and 
edited  by  Profs.  G.  K.  Hemkes,  W.  Heyns,  and  Rev.  H. 
Beets.  The  last  named  arranged  the  addition  involved. 
Both  these  Forms  were  approved  by  the  Synod  of  1906. 

The  “Form  for  the  Confirmation  of  Marriage  Before 
the  Church ”  is  the  closing  one  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Liturgy.  It  dates  from  early  Reformation  days,  and  ap¬ 
peared  already  in  Dathenus’  liturgical  Collection  of  1566. 
But  if  any,  then  certainly  this  formulary  is  the  one  need¬ 
ing  revision.  Its  very  title,  speaking  of  the  “confirmation” 
of  matrimony,  does  not  fit  American  conditions.  In  the 
Netherlands  the  civil  magistrates  unite  people  in  marriage. 
The  ministers  of  religion  can  do  no  more  than  “confirm¬ 
ing”  this — hence  the  title.  But  in  the  United  States  pas¬ 
tors  are  authorized  by  law  to  solemnize  marriages.  More¬ 
over,  the  opening  sentence  presents  a  rather  gloomy  view 
of  life,  true  enough  to  fact,  but  perhaps  out  of  place  at  a 
matrimonial  feast.  But  the  chief  objection  may  well  be 
considered  that  the  Christian  character  of  marriage,  as  de¬ 
scribed  in  Ephesians  5,  is  not  sufficiently  brought  out. 
Other  expressions  in  the  form  could  well  bear  wise  revi- 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


199 


sion,  and  there  ought  to  be  some  modification  devised  to 
fit  the  reading  of  the  form  when  aged  people  are  united  in 
bonds  of  matrimony.  The  length  also  has  met  with  objec¬ 
tion.  A  movement  to  improve  the  liturgy  is  under  way 
both  in  the  Netherlands,  {The  Banner ,  February  24, 1921), 
and  in  America. 

Taking  all  in  all,  our  Liturgy  is  composed  of  noble, 
edifying  and  Scriptural  formularies,  honored  by  the  use 
of  centuries.  The  Reformed  Church  has  been  called  semi- 
liturgical,  standing  midway  between  the  extremes  of  Ro¬ 
manist  overdoing  and  Puritan  rigidity.  May  divine  wis¬ 
dom  ever  be  given  to  retain  this  golden  mean.  The  form 
without  the  essence  is  dead  and  vain  worship.  On  the 
other  hand,  God  has  implanted  feelings  for  harmony, 
beauty  and  aesthetics,  which  should  not  be  killed  but  cul¬ 
tivated  to  the  praise  of  Him  of  whom,  through  whom  and 
to  whom  all  things  are  created.  Giving  the  congregation 
a  large  share  in  divine  service  is  also  a  desideratum  in  the 
eyes  of  many.  This  and  other  considerations  have  led  to 
proposals  embodied  in  the  next  paragraph. 

§6.  LITURGICAL  IMPROVEMENT  PROPOSALS 

At  the  Synod  of  1916  the  overture  was  presented: 
“Synod  express  the  desirability  of  introducing  a  uniform 
order  of  services  in  our  American-speaking  churches,  in 
which  the  congregation  takes  a  more  active  part;  and  ex¬ 
hort  these  churches  to  come  to  an  agreement  in  this  matter 
if  possible.”  This  led  to  proposals  laid  before  the  1920 
Synod  of  the  following: 

I.  ORDER  OF  WORSHIP  FOR  THE  MORNING  SERVICE. 

(Organ  Prelude.) 

PART  I.  Introductory  Service. 

“Votum .” 

Salutation. 

Psalm  (Psalm  95,  84,  etc.) 


200 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


PART  II.  Service  of  Reconciliation. 

Summary  of  the  Law  (Matthew  22:  37-40). 
Confession  of  Sin  and  Penitential  Psalm  (No.  140:2) 
Absolution. 

Apostles’  Creed. 

Psalm  of  Praise. 


PART  III. 


PART  IV. 


Service  of  Gratitude 


Prayer 

and 

Benevolence 


General  Prayer,  concluded  with  “Our  Father”,  etc. 
Offertory. 

Psalm  of  Thanksgiving  (Psalm  116,  etc.). 

Service  of  the  Word. 

Reading  of  Scripture. 

Preaching. 


PART  V.  Closing  Service. 

Prayer  of  Thanksgiving. 

Concluding  Psalm  or  Doxology,  or  both. 
Benediction. 


II.  ORDER  OF  WORSHIP  FOR  SECOND  SERVICE. 


(Organ  Prelude.) 


PART  I.  Introductory  Service. 

“Votum.” 

Salutation. 

Psalm. 

f  Prayer 

PART  II.  Service  of  Thanksgiving  j  Benevolence 

[  Decalogue 

General  Prayer,  concluded  with  “Our  Father”,  etc. 
Offertory. 

Decalogue. 

Psalm  of  Thanksgiving,  or  Refrain  of  No.  42. 


PART  III.  Service  of  the  Word. 

Reading  of  Scripture. 
Preaching. 


PART  IV.  Closing  Service. 

Prayer  of  Thanksgiving. 

Concluding  Psalm  or  Doxology,  or  both. 
Benediction. 


CREED  AND  LITURGY 


201 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  the  five  reasons  for  having  a  Creed  in  the  shape  of  the 
doctrinal  standards  of  a  Church. 

2.  What  can  you  say  about  the  origin  of  the  Heidelberg  Cate¬ 
chism? 

3.  What  can  you  tell  about  the  character  of  this  standard? 

4.  Describe  the  chief  contents  of  the  Belgic  Confession. 

5.  Which  five  “points”,  or  “heads  of  doctrine”  form  the  Canons 
of  Dordrecht?  Against  which  party  were  they  directed? 

6.  What  can  you  say  about  the  Liturgy  in  general  and  the  es¬ 
sence  and  purpose  of  divine  worship  involving  the  use  of 
liturgical  forms? 

7.  What  can  you  say  about  the  two  sacramental  Forms? 

8.  Which  are  the  two  disciplinary  and  the  four  ordination 
Forms? 

9.  What  can  you  say  about  the  Marriage  Form  and  possible 
improvements  of  it? 

10.  Which  points  can  you  name  in  favor  of  the  proposed  liturg¬ 
ical  improvement  regarding  the  “order  of  worship”? 

REFERENCES 

Dr.  J.  I.  Good,  “The  Heidelberg  Catechism”. 

Dr.  J.  I.  Good,  “Famous  Reformers”,  Chapter  V. 

Rev.  F.  Fortuin,  “Drie  Formulieren  van  Eenigheid”. 

Prof.  W.  Heyns,  “Liturgiek”. 


CHAPTER  IX 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Introductory:  Why  so  many  different  Churches?  §1.  Calvinism  as 
a  distinctive  Principle.  §2.  The  Psalter  in  divine  worship. 
§3.  Preaching  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  §4.  Catechetical 
Instruction.  §5.  Christian  Education:  its  fundamental  prin¬ 
ciple;  reasons  for  it.  §6.  The  Separated  Life:  Secret  Orders 
and  Worldly  Amusements. 

INTRODUCTORY:  WHY  SO  MANY  DIFFERENT  CHURCHES? 

TO  AN  outsider  it  must  be  bewildering  to  see  Christen¬ 
dom  broken  up  into  so  many  different  organizations ! 
All  Christians  profess  belief  in  the  same  God,  they  consider 
one  book  God’s  special  revelation,  they  recite  the  same 
Apostles’  Creed,  and  even  express  to  believe:  one  holy 
Catholic  Church.  But  behold — there  are  the  three  great 
divisions:  Roman  Catholic,  Orthodox  Eastern  Church, 
and  Protestantism.  Moreover,  Protestantism  was  already 
broken  up  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  so  that  we 
speak  of  the  Anabaptist  and  Lutheran  in  distinction  from 
the  Reformed  Reformation. 

And  even  among  the  Reformed — what  divisions !  There 
are  the  Calvinistic  and  the  Arminian  groups,  the  Presby¬ 
terian  and  the  Episcopalian  groups,  etc.  Even  the  Re¬ 
formed  in  America,  holding  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  as 
their  standard,  are  divided  into  several  denominations. 

Why  so  many  different  Churches?  And  we  reply: 
that  on  the  one  hand  the  differences  are  not  as  deep  and 
contradictory  as  they  seem.  There  are  many  more  essen¬ 
tial  things  on  which  all  true  Christians  agree  than  matters 
on  which  they  differ.  And  one  of  the  great  mistakes  of 
Christendom  has  been  to  so  overemphasize  the  differences 
that  the  unity  was  often  lost  sight  of.  Did  not  already 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


203 


Paul  speak  of  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  as  well  as 
one  Spirit  and  one  hope  of  the  calling?  (Eph.  4:  4,  5.)  On 
the  other  hand,  there  are  so  many  differences  because 
God’s  truth  is  so  wonderfully  rich,  so  deep,  so  high,  so 
broad,  that  the  human  mind  can  not  comprehend  it  all, 
nor  correlate  all  of  the  truth  in  the  same  manner.  More¬ 
over,  the  make-up  of  the  human  soul  has  something  to  do 
with  the  formation  of  sects  and  groups  of  sects.  We  have 
already  alluded  to  the  differences  between  three  religious 
types:  action,  experiential  and  intellectual  types.  More¬ 
over,  racial  and  national  characteristics  are  factors  in  the 
differentiations  as  well  as  historical  development.  While 
sin  has,  alas,  a  great  deal  to  do  with  this  dividing  of  Chris¬ 
tendom,  as  well  as  human  limitations,  there  is  discernable 
in  it  the  overruling  hand  of  God,  who  through  this  vast 
diversity  of  denominations,  brings  out  the  wonderful  full¬ 
ness  of  His  grace  and  the  riches  of  His  Word,  and  at  the 
same  time  teaches  us  the  Christian  grace  of  forbearance  in 
love  and  fraternal  cooperation  in  Kingdom-work. 

As  we  stated  in  Chapter  II,  §9,  speaking  about  the 
Pluriformity  of  the  Church,  each  denomination  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  different  from  others  in  its  mission  and  its  con¬ 
tribution  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  a  wider  or  narrower 
sense,  or  in  both.  But  this  is  determined  largely  by  the 
national  descent  or  racial  character  of  each  church,  and 
particularly  by  that  what  constantly,  though  not  always 
consciously,  influences  life:  underlying  principles  which 
control  the  practice  and  determine  the  mission  and 
contribution. 

The  following  are  the  distinctive  Principles  and  Prac¬ 
tices  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  not  indeed  as  held 
by  it  exclusively,  but  emphasized  more  by  us  than  by  other 
denominations  in  our  land.  They  have  been  handed 
down  by  the  Dutch  forebears  of  our  people,  or  are  ours  by 
logical  inference  or  historical  development,  or  by  all  of 
these  factors  combined,  more  or  less. 


204 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§1.  CALVINISM  AS  A  DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLE 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church  is  distinctively  a  Cal- 
vinistic  Church.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  Church  of  the 
Fathers,  Chapter  I.  The  principles  of  Calvinism  per¬ 
meated  its  history  and  enterprises  (Chapter  II — VII).  The 
Creed  and  Liturgy  are  filled  with  its  spirit  (Chapter  VIII). 
In  its  upholding  and  unfolding  its  leaders  have  found  its 
specific  task  and  calling  in  America — see  Chapter  V,  §8. 

But  what  is  Calvinism ?  Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  in  his  Stone 
Lectures ,  says  that  the  name  Calvinist  can  be  used  as  a 
sectarian  name,  a  confessional  designation,  a  denomina¬ 
tional  title,  and  a  scientific  name,  and  the  latter  either  in 
an  historical,  philosophical  or  political  sense.  “Historic¬ 
ally”,  we  are  informed,  “the  name  Calvinism  indicates  the 
channel  in  which  the  Reformation  moved,  in  so  far  as  it 
was  neither  Lutheran,  nor  Anabaptist,  nor  Socinian.  In 
the  philosophical  sense,  we  understand  by  it  that  system  of 
conceptions  which,  under  the  influence  of  the  master  mind 
of  Calvin  raised  it  to  dominance  in  the  several  spheres  of 
life.  And  as  a  political  name,  Calvinism  indicates  that 
political  movement  which  has  guaranteed  the  liberty  of 
nations  in  constitutional  statesmanship;  first  in  Holland, 
then  in  England,  and  since  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen¬ 
tury  in  the  United  States.”  Speaking  of  Calvinism  in  the 
last  named  strictly  scientific  sense,  as  an  independent 
general  tendency,  which  from  a  mother-principle  of  its 
own,  has  developed  an  independent  form  both  for  our  life 
and  for  our  thought ,  Dr.  Kuyper  gives  the  following  as  its 
definition:  “Calvinism  is  rooted  in  a  form  of  religion 
which  was  peculiarly  its  own,  and  from  this  specific  relig¬ 
ious  consciousness  there  was  developed  first  a  peculiar 
theology,  then  a  special  Church  Order,  and  then  a  given 
form  for  political  and  social  life,  for  the  interpretation  of 
the  moral  world-order,  for  the  relation  between  nature 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


205 


and  grace,  between  Christianity  and  the  world,  between 
church  and  state,  and  finally  for  art  and  science.” 

Over  against  Paganism,  Islamism,  Romanism  and  Mod¬ 
ernism,  Dr.  Kuyper  posits  Calvinism  as  a  life-  and  world¬ 
view,  or  in  briefer  form:  a  life-system  (Dutch:  wereld- 
beschouwing). 

Which  is  the  determining  principle  of  Calvinism,  its 
root  principle?  Dr.  H.  E.  Dosker  states:  “the  glory  of 
God  is  the  center  and  mainspring  of  the  entire  system.” 
Dr.  G.  P.  Fisher:  “Calvinism  was  distinguished  by  the 
stress  which  it  laid  on  the  sovereignty  of  God  in  the  be¬ 
stowal  of  grace.” 

That  last  is  also  evidently  the  conception  of  Dr.  A.  Kuy¬ 
per.  “First  stands  the  confession  of  the  absolute  sov¬ 
ereignty  of  the  Triune  God:  for  of  Him,  through  Him  and 
unto  Him  are  all  things.”  “To  covet  no  other  existence 
than  for  the  sake  of  God,  to  long  for  nothing  but  for  the 
will  of  God,  and  to  be  wholly  absorbed  in  the  glory  of  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  such  is  the  pith  and  kernel  of  all  true 
religion.” 

Dr.  B.  B.  Warfield,  speaking  of  the  exact  formulation 
of  the  fundamental  principle  of  Calvinism,  defines  it  as 
follows:  “It  lies  in  a  profound  apprehension  of  God  in 
His  majesty,  with  the  inevitably  accompanying  poignant 
realization  of  the  exact  nature  of  the  relation  sustained  to 
Him  by  the  creature  as  such,  and  particularly  by  the  sin¬ 
ful  creature.  He  who  believes  in  God  without  reserve, 
and  is  determined  that  God  shall  be  God  to  him  in  all  his 
thinking,  feeling,  willing — in  the  entire  compass  of  his 
life — activities,  intellectual,  moral,  spiritual,  throughout 
all  his  individual,  social,  religious  relation — is  a  Cal¬ 
vinist.”  (Schaff-Herzog  Enc.,  s.  v.  “Calvinism”.) 

Elsewhere  Dr.  Warfield  stated:  “The  formative  prin¬ 
ciple  of  Calvinism  is  not  to  be  found  in  its  difference  from 
other  system,  especially  the  Lutheran,  for  it  has  more 


206 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


points  of  agreement  than  difference.  No  more  is  to  be 
found  in  the  so-called  ‘live  points’  (see  Chapter  VIII,  §3) ; 
these  but  lead  to  the  source  from  which  they  spring— a 
vision  of  God  in  His  glory.  ‘Calvinism  begins,  centers,  and 
ends  with  a  vision  of  God  in  His  majesty  and  the  relation 
of  the  sinful  creature  to  Him  and  with  this,  an  adoring 
wonder  that  God  receiveth  sinners.  It  emphasizes  (1)  the¬ 
ism,  which  comes  to  its  rights  only  in  a  teleology  which 
recognizes  God  as  the  end  of  all;  (2)  the  religious  rela¬ 
tion  which  attains  its  climax  only  when  God  is  first; 
(3)  evangelicalism,  which  is  stable  only  when  it  rests  all 
in  God. 

“Calvinism  differs  from  theological  system  not  in  kind, 
but  in  degree,  embodying  what  all  ought  to  be.  Whoever 
recognizes  God  and  his  own  relation  to  God  is,  in  so  far, 
a  Calvinist.  The  consequence  of  Calvinism  is  a  high  super- 
naturalism — in  its  view  of  miracles,  of  revelation,  of  the 
Bible  and  of  salvation.  Calvinism  stops  nowhere  short  of 
a  God  centered  world-view — God  is  all  in  all.  It  is  the 
only  system  relating  the  universe  to  the  doctrine  of  grace 
and  the  glory  of  God.” 

Dr.  Emil  Knodt:  “The  true  world-center  has  been 
recognized  and  acknowledged  the  clearest  by  Calvinism. 
It  is  God’s  Sovereignty.  God  is  its  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  Sovereignty  of  the  Creator,  the  Sovereignty  of  the 
Judge,  the  Sovereignty  of  a  gracious  King;  and  this 
all  comprehended  in  the  Sovereignty  of  the  Father 
with  his  holy  love.  To  entrust  and  submit  one’s 
self  to  it  unconditionally,  that  is  Religion.  Notwith¬ 
standing  deep  and  humiliating  acknowledgement  of  one’s 
own  unworthiness  and  guilt  and  the  weakness  of  others, 
still  to  make  God’s  law  and  right  rule  in  the  home,  the 
profession,  the  State,  that  is  Authority.  Not  to  be  carried 
away  by  impressions  and  impulses,  but  to  trace  God’s 
thoughts  in  the  history  of  the  Whole  and  of  the  Individual, 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES  207 

that  is  Science.  Not  to  express  imaginary  pictures,  but 
divine  reality — and  in  it  the  healthy  as  healthy  and  the 
sick  as  sick,  that  is  Art”.1) 


It  is  this  Calvinism  which  forms,  as  we  already  stated, 
the  bone  and  marrow  of  our  Reformed  Creed  in  its  three 
standards,  the  heart  of  the  teachings,  and  the  very  spirit 
of  its  Liturgy.  It  influences  our  conception  of  the  other 
distinctive  principles  and  practices  described  in  this  Chap¬ 
ter.  And  we  need  not  be  ashamed  of  this  Calvinism.  Its 
teachings,  properly  understood,  are  based  upon  the  Word 
of  God.  Its  principles  are  the  very  warp  of  Holy  Writ. 
Every  true  Christian,  even  though  professionally  not  ac¬ 
cepting  our  Creed,  is  a  Calvinist  on  his  knees,  in  utter  de¬ 
pendence  on  free  grace.  It  still  holds  good  and  will  as 
long  as  the  world  endures,  as  Watson  said  in  1811  after 
Bishop  Tomlinson  called  Calvinism  “dead”:  “such  doc¬ 
trines  do  not  die;  they  only  sleep”,  and  as  Froude  ex¬ 
pressed  it:  “Calvinism  has  appeared  and  re-appeared, 
and  in  due  time  will  re  appear  again,  unless  God  be  an 
illusion  and  man  be  as  the  beasts  that  perish”.*  2) 

And  Calvinism’s  achievements  prove  its  value  and 
strength  according  to  our  Lord’s  declaration  about  a  tree 
being  known  by  its  fruit.  “Calvinism  has  produced  in  all 
countries  in  which  it  really  dominated,  a  definite  type  of 
character  and  conception  of  morals  which  was  the 
noblest  that  had  yet  appeared  in  the  world.” — Carlyle. 

“Had  it  not  been  for  the  Puritans,  political  liberty 
would  propably  have  disappeared  from  the  world.  If  ever 
there  were  men  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  the  cause  of 
all  mankind,  it  was  those  grim  old  Ironsides  (of  Crom¬ 
well),  whose  watchwords  were  texts  of  Holy  Writ;  whose 
battle-cries  were  hymns  of  praise.  Those  English  Cal- 


1)  Fabius,  “Wezen  van  het  Calvinisme”,  bladz.  31. 

2)  “The  Banner",  March  22,  1917. 


208 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


vinists  didn’t  labor  and  die  for  themselves  alone.  They 
stood  in  the  breach  for  all  succeeding  generations.” — John 
Fiske. 

“Out  of  this  war  (of  Holland  against  Spain)  of  eighty 
years’  duration,  emerged  a  republic  for  two  centuries  the 
greatest  in  the  world,  a  republic  which  was  the  instructor 
of  the  world  in  art  and  whose  corner-stone  was  religious 
tolerance  for  all  mankind.” — Campbell. 

“Calvinists  have  been  the  highest  honor  of  their  own 
age  and  the  best  models  for  imitation  for  every  succeeding 
age.” — Encyclopedia  Brittanica. 

§2.  THE  PSALTER  IN  DIVINE  WORSHIP 

Next  to  maintaing  biblical  Calvinism,  the  use  of  the 
Psalter  in  divine  worship  may  well  be  called  the  second 
distinctive  principle  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church.  It 
is  expressed  in  Article  69  of  the  Church  Order :  “In  the 
churches  only  the  150  Psalms  of  David,  the  Ten  Command¬ 
ments,  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  the  Twelve  Articles  of  Faith, 
the  Songs  of  Mary,  Zacharias,  and  Simeon,  the  Morning 
and  Evening  Hymns,  and  the  Hymn  of  Prayer  before  the 
sermon  shall  be  sung.”  The  principle  has  been  expressed 
in  the  motto:  “In  God’s  House  nothing  but  God’s  Word, 
also  in  song.”  Calvin  expressed  this  in  still  stricter  way  in 
the  rule,  published  in  1542,  that  in  the  churches  the  Psalms 
of  David  alone  should  be  used,  because  they  were  inspired 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  “When  we  sing  them  we  are  certain 
of  it  that  God  puts  these  words  into  our  mouth,  as  if  He 
Himself  sung  in  us  to  His  own  glory.”  The  following  re¬ 
plies  may  be  given  to  the  question:  “Why  are  you  a  Psalm¬ 
singing  Church ?” 

In  the  first  place :  there  is  divine  authority  for  the  use 
of  the  Psalter  in  divine  worship.  God’s  Word  commands 
us:  “Sing  psalms  to  God  and  make  a  joyful  noise.”  “Let 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


209 


us  make  a  joyful  noise  to  him  with  psalms.”  “Is  any  merry, 
let  him  sing  psalms.”  Our  second  answer  to  the  question, 
“Why  sing  Psalms?”  is  the  divine  example  recorded  in 
the  Bible.  They  were  used  exclusively  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  Church,  II  Chron.  29:  30;  Psalm  95:  2;  Psalm  105:  2. 
Following  the  Old  Testament  examples  we  notice  he  ex¬ 
ample  of  our  Lord  Himself.  At  the  close  of  the  observance 
of  the  newly-instituted  Lord’s  Supper:  “they  had  sung 
an  hymn.”  The  “hymn”  which  was  always  sung  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Passover  was  the  Greal  Hallel,  consisting 
of  Psalms  113  to  118,  inclusive.  It  is  generally  agreed  that 
Christ  and  His  disciples  used  the  Hebrew  Psalter  in  their 
service  of  praise.  There  were  no  other  sacred  songs  in 
existence.  Christ  Himself  did  not  compose  songs  for  re¬ 
ligious  worship  nor  direct  others  to  do  this  work.  He  gave 
other  important  directions  to  the  Church,  but  not  one 
song  did  He  give  to  be  handed  down  to  His  followers. 
The  example  of  Christ  speaks  volumes  as  to  His  will  in  the 
matter  of  praise. 

The  example  of  the  followers  of  Christ  is  equally  con¬ 
vincing.  The  apostles,  when  in  prison,  sang  praises  and 
the  prisoners  heard  them.  Is  it  a  common  sense  idea  to 
suppose  that  they  composed  the  songs  which  they  sang  on 
that  occasion?  The  only  reasonable  view  is  that  they 
sang  those  inspired  songs  which  they  had  been  taught 
from  their  youth,  and  which  were  the  long-established 
medium  of  praise  for  God’s  people.  The  early  Christian 
converts,  moreover,  if  they  were  Jews,  would  naturally  use 
the  Hebrew  Psalter,  and  the  gentile  converts  would,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  not  be  competent,  all  of  a  sudden,  to 
compose  a  sacred  liymnology.  The  “hymns”  and  “songs” 
mentioned  in  Eph.  5:  19  and  Coll.  3:  16  evidently  do  not 
refer  to  human  compositions,  but  to  headings  of  various 
Psalms  which  in  the  Greek  version,  in  use  at  the  time, 
were  named  “hymns”  and  “songs”.  Thirty-four  Psalms  were 


210 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


called  “songs”  and  five  “hymns”,  while  others  had  double 
titles,  such  as  “psalm  and  song”,  “psalm  and  hymn”,  etc. 
No  other  compositions  of  this  kind  were  extant  in  these 
early  normative  apostolic  days.  Moreover,  the  “Apostol¬ 
ical  Constitutions”,  which  show  the  customs  of  the  Church 
from  the  times  of  the  Apostles  to  the  fourth  century,  in¬ 
form  us  that  “women,  children,  and  the  humblest  laborers 
could  repeat  all  the  Psalms  of  David.  They  chanted  them 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  thus  exercised  their  piety  and 
refreshed  their  minds”. Our  third  reason  for  singing 
Psalms  is  that  they  meet  the  great  requirements  of  praise, 
exalting  God  in  creation,  providence,  and  redemption, 
while  containing  confessions  of  our  unworthiness,  expres¬ 
sions  of  our  faith,  our  gratitude,  our  needs,  etc.  The 
Psalms  are  full  of  Christ  in  His  Sonship,  humanity,  life, 
sufferings,  atonement,  offices,  death,  resurrection,  ascen¬ 
sion,  heavenly  glory,  return  to  judge  the  world,  etc.  The 
Holy  Spirit  also  is  named  in  the  Psalms  repeatedly,  as 
well  as  the  heavenly  Father.  (Cf.  Index  of  subjects  in 
our  U.  P.  Psalter,  p.  368  ff.) 

Dr.  A.  Kuyper  gives  the  following  additional  reasons: 
In  depth  of  spirituality  the  psalms  excel  the  hymns; 
hymns  have  nearly  everywhere  crowded  out  the  divinely- 
given  collection,  the  Psalter;  in  the  Psalms  we  hear  the 
abiding,  eternal,  fundamental  note  of  the  pious  heart  re¬ 
sounding,  whereas  hymns  are  mostly  of  a  temporary  na¬ 
ture;  hymns  have  nearly  everywhere  led  to  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  choirs  and  to  the  silencing  of  the  congregations, 
while  in  the  struggle  between  hymns  and  Psalms,  the  in¬ 
different  all  preferred  the  hymns  and  the  pious  the 
Psalms.  They  are  the  one  set  of  songs  to  which  all  denom¬ 
inations  should  agree.  They  also  bring  out  the  oneness  of 
the  Church. 


U  Cf.  A.  M.  Malcolm,  Associate  Presbyterian  Magazine,  August 

1921. 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


211 


History  shows  us  also  that  from  the  earliest  times 
errorists  have  ever  sought  to  make  propaganda  for  their 
false  teaching  by  means  of  hymns. 

Finally,  when  the  Psalms  in  public  worship  console  and 
strengthen  us,  we  can  depend  upon  the  promises  which 
give  us  new  courage :  they  are  God’s  own  words  on  which 
we  can  rely  in  life  and  in  death. 

It  is  on  such  grounds  that  the  Reformed  Churches  have 
favored  Psalmody — in  divine  worship  in  the  churches, 
using  the  150  Psalms  of  the  Bible  as  their  chief  manual  of 
praise.  But  they  never  occupied  the  exclusive  standpoint 
of  some  of  the  Scotch  churches  in  this  regard.  A  few  extra¬ 
psalmody  selections  have  been  found  back  of  the  Psalter 
ever  since  our  fathers  published  their  books  of  public 
praise,  even  as  the  Geneva  Psalter  of  John  Knox  contained 
“spiritual  songs”. 

The  first  complete  Psalter  used  by  our  forebears  dur¬ 
ing  Reformation  days  was  published  in  1566  by  Petrus 
Dathenus,  already  mentioned  in  Chapter  I.  This  gifted 
though  somewhat  unsteady  man  based  his  metrical  ver¬ 
sion  on  a  French  one  published  under  Calvin’s  auspices. 
Its  music  is  in  part  the  work  of  Bourgeois,  who  lived  and 
labored  in  Geneva  in  Calvin’s  days  and  of  his  Calvinistic 
colleague  Goudimel,  once,  at  Rome,  the  teacher  of  the 
Palestrine.  (Cf.  Stone  Lectures ,  p.  228.) 

The  version  of  Dathenus,  though  very  rugged,  endeared 
itself  to  our  ancestors  by  precious  associations  and  con¬ 
tinued  in  use  till  1773,  when  a  new  and  much  smoother 
versification  appeared.  It  was  this  book  which  our  pio¬ 
neers  carried  with  them  to  America,  and  the  sweet,  con¬ 
soling,  encouraging  and  New  Testament  spirit  of  this  vol¬ 
ume  has  not  been  equalled,  much  less  surpassed  by  Eng¬ 
lish  versifications.  Some  of  our  German  Churches  use  a 
Psalter  version  on  the  Dutch  model,  made  by  the  Rev.  M. 
Jorissen  (f  1823).  Our  American  congregations  employ 


212 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


the  Psalter  published  in  1912  by  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  work  of  a  Joint  Committee  of  nine  American 
and  Canadian  Churches,  on  which  our  denomination  was 
represented  at  first  by  the  Rev.  J.  Groen,  and  later  by  the 
author  of  this  book.1)  The  music  of  the  U.  P.  Psalter  is 
varied  and  of  excellent  authorship  as  the  superscriptions 
above  each  number  indicate.  (Cf.  Indexes  of  tunes  and 
composers,  back  of  the  Psalter,  pp.  361 — 367.) 

§3.  PREACHING  ON  THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  its  Church  Order, 
Article  68,  insists  on  having  the  ministers  of  the  congrega¬ 
tions  expound  regularly  the  fifty- two  Lord’s  Days  of  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  a  division,  by  the  way,  dating  from 
Reformation  days.  Regarding  this  rule  some  people  have 
objected  that  it  is  man-made  and  unduly  hampers  the 
preacher  in  proclaiming  such  truths  as  the  Spirit  may  lead 
him  in  or  as  the  demand  of  the  hour  requires.  Quite  a 
common  argument  is  that  a  man-made  book  like  the  Cate¬ 
chism  is  raised  to  the  same  level  as  the  divinely-inspired 
Bible.  Especially  the  Arminians  of  the  days  of  the  Synod 
of  Dordrecht,  1618-1619,  made  much  of  the  last  mentioned 
objection. 

Now  in  reply  to  these  we  might  say  that  our  fathers 
never  meant  the  rule  to  be  a  strait-jacket.  The  general 
principle  of  our  Book  of  Church  Government  about  the 
profit  and  edification  of  the  Church  as  a  determining  fac¬ 
tor  in  the  application  of  the  rules,  applies  here  also.  Dr. 
Rutgers  has  brought  that  out  beautifully  in  his  Geldigheid 
van  de  Oude  Kerkenordening .  Moreover,  preaching  on 

U  A  Psalter  edition  whose  music  had  been  arranged  or  composed 
by  the  Rev.  H.  Van  der  Werp  (Chapter  IV,  §2)  did  not  find  denom¬ 
inational  acceptance,  although  it  is  a  meritorious  production,  more  or 
less  patterned  after  the  Dutch  Psalter.  The  U.  P.  Psalter  was  pre¬ 
ferred  as  more  simple,  with  classic  tunes,  greater  variety  and  ap¬ 
propriateness,  and  more  general  usefulness. 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


213 


the  Catechism  is  not  the  only  preaching  to  take  place.  As 
to  the  second  objection — it  rests  on  a  misunderstanding. 
We  do  not  preach  on  the  Catechism  in  so  far  as  it  is  a 
human  document,  but  on  the  divine  truths  in  it,  “the  sum 
of  Christian  Doctrine  comprehended  in  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism”,  as  the  Church  Order  expresses  it,  and  that  is 
taken  from  the  Bible,  in  many  instances  transcribed  liter¬ 
ally.  The  objections,  therefore,  have  no  weight. 

But  on  the  other  hand  there  are  a  number  of  weighty 
reasons  in  favor  of  obeying  the  rule  of  our  fathers.  If 
properly  carried  on,  regular  preaching  on  the  Catechism, 
accompanied  by  constant  and  prayerful  study,  with  appli¬ 
cation  to  the  ever-changing  conditions  of  Church  and 
world,  is  a  boon  to  the  Church  and  ought  faithfully  to  be 
continued.  For  which  reasons  ought  this  to  be  done? 
What  grounds  can  be  advanced  for  this  distinctive 
practice? 

(1)  It  keeps  a  living  contact  with  the  past  of  our 
people.  Sermonic  explanation  of  the  “Heidelberger”  is 
not  an  innovation,  but  a  time-honored  custom.  In  the  same 
year  in  which  Dathenus  published  the  Catechism,  a 
preacher  in  Amsterdam,  Peter  Gabriel,  began  to  expound 
it  every  Sunday  to  his  persecuted  flock.  The  National 
Synod  of  The  Hague,  in  1586,  prescribed  that  “the  preach¬ 
ers  must  everywhere  briefly  explain  the  Heidelberg  Cate¬ 
chism  at  the  Sunday  afternoon  services.”  The  Synod  of 
Dordrecht  in  1618-1619  also  spoke  in  a  similar  way,  insist¬ 
ing  on  it  that  this  expounding  should  be  so  plain  that  the 
children  of  the  Church  could  grasp  the  exposition,  as  well 
as  the  older  ones — an  exhortation  not  always  borne  in  mind 
we  fear.  A  time-honored  custom  this  preaching  certainly  has 
become.  And  our  reverence  for  the  fathers,  our  obligations 
to  Reformation  days,  our  respect  for  the  wisdom  of  our 
ancestors,  should  lead  us  to  keep  up  this  living  contact 
with  the  past  of  our  people. 


214 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


(2)  Catechism-preaching  constitutes  a  living  bond  of 
union  between  the  different  congregations  of  a  denomina¬ 
tion,  and  the  different  divisions  of  Reformed  Christendom. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  demands  that  Mass  every¬ 
where  be  said  in  the  Latin  tongue,  so  that  Roman  Catholics 
can  go  anywhere  and  everywhere  to  hear  the  same  words, 
and  thus  manifest  the  Catholicity  or  general  character  of 
their  Church.  Among  us  as  Reformed  people,  not  a  dead 
language  constitutes  such  a  truly  Catholic  bond  of  union, 
but  the  preaching  of  the  living  truths  of  the  Bible  of  which 
the  Catechism  is  essentially  a  compendium.  That  means 
a  great  deal  in  a  world  full  of  change.  It  means  real,  liv¬ 
ing  uniformity  of  belief,  amid  the  various  nations  and  dif¬ 
ferent  churches,  such  as  no  Confession  can  bring  about. 
Confessions  are  but  seldom  read,  whereas  a  Catechism  ex¬ 
plained  regularly,  gets  into  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  our 
intellectual  and  spiritual  life. 

(3)  Catechism-preaching  presents  the  truths  of  the 
Bible  as  a  system.  The  doctrines  of  God’s  Word  form  one 
systematic  whole.  They  form  an  unbroken  chain.  If  one 
link  of  truth  is  dropped,  the  whole  system  suffers.  And 
the  Church  is  entitled  to  know,  to  feel,  to  hear,  that  what 
it  believes  to  be  saving  truth  is  not  an  aggregation  of  opin¬ 
ions,  like  a  heap  of  sand  is  a  pile  of  unconnected  grains, 
but  an  organic  whole.  Such  will  prevent  shallow  and  in¬ 
definite  thinking,  with  its  sad  lack  of  harmonizing  of 
doctrines. 

(4)  Catechism-preaching  safeguards  the  preacher 
from  one-sidedness  in  his  treatment  of  Bible  truth.  It  is  a 
well  known  fact  that  ministers  have  their  doctrinal  pref¬ 
erences.  Their  characters  differ  also.  One  naturally  is  stern, 
and  feels  like  magnifying  the  Law  as  another  John  the 
Baptist.  A  second  one,  with  a  nature  of  St.  John  the  Di¬ 
vine,  has  much  more  love  for  the  Gospel  and  its  sweet 
breathings  of  love.  One  is  more  philosophical,  another 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


215 


more  practical.  And  so  in  still  more  variations  there  is 
marked  difference  between  the  servants  of  God. 

But  the  preaching  of  the  Catechism  is  a  great  help  to 
deliver  from  one-sidedness  and  to  develop  an  all-around 
appreciation  and  exposition  of  the  many-sided  truths  of 
the  Bible. 

(5)  The  usefulness  of  Catechism-preaching  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  unpleasant  as  well  as  pleasant  things  can 
be  presented  without  shocking  the  congregation.  No  one 
will  deny  that  an  exposition  of  the  Seventh  Command  is 
necessary  in  our  world  of  sin.  So  is  the  divine  behest: 
“Thou  shalt  not  steal”,  etc.  Now,  if  a  preacher  should 
happen,  all  of  a  sudden,  to  announce  that  he  is  going  to 
preach  on  the  sin  of  adultery  or  theft,  he  is  likely  to  set 
many  tongues  wagging  and  arouse  many  suspicions, 
whereas  the  exposition  in  the  regular  course  of  events, 
will  drive  the  truth  home  without  needless  excitement. 
This  has  reference  to  all  truths  which  men  naturally  dis¬ 
like.  For  instance,  also  the  one  of  total  depravity,  pre¬ 
destination,  etc. 

(6)  Catechism-preaching  is  useful  because  it  magni¬ 
fies  religion  as  a  living,  soul-saving  revelation,  requiring 
personal  embracing  of  God’s  truth  and  God’s  Savior.  The 
direct,  personal  tone  of  the  Catechism:  “What  is  thine 
only  comfort?”,  and  the  answer:  “That  I  belong  unto  my 
faithful  Savior”,  cuts  off  a  great  deal  of  verbose,  empty, 
head-religion.  And  not  only  that,  but  the  fact  that  the 
Catechism  magnifies  the  living  Christ  as  the  great  center 
of  saving  knowledge,  as  the  indispensable,  ever  blessed 
Redeemer,  renders  it  ever  attractive,  ever  new  and  fresh. 
Because  it  satisfies  the  ever  new  longings  of  the  human 
heart. 

(7)  The  systematic  preaching  of  the  Heidelberg  book 
equips  a  church-member  for  holding  his  ground  and  de- 


216 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


fending  and  spreading  his  principles.  It  calls  his  atten¬ 
tion  in  a  systematic  way  to  the  very  deepest  foundations 
of  our  holy  religion.  It  shows  him  what  a  firm  foundation 
the  saints  of  the  Lord  have  in  the  Word  of  God,  in  the 
truth  they  embrace.  It  affords  weapons  to  defend  the 
faith  as  well  as  means  to  carry  on  active  warfare  for  God 
and  His  Kingdom.  It  enables  to  quickly  detect  error  in  the 
preaching  of  the  unorthodox,  and  teaches  to  distinguish 
between  the  precious  and  the  vile.  (Jer.  15:19.)  Wise, 
fresh,  whole-souled,  earnest  preaching  on  the  system  of 
truths  of  our  Catechism  has  been  an  inestimable  blessing 
for  countless  numbers  of  people  of  the  past.  May  it  ever 
continue  such,  generation  after  generation !  (Cf.  The  Ban¬ 
ner ,  January  2,  1913.) 

§4.  CATECHETICAL  INSTRUCTION 

Not  alone  the  congregation  as  a  whole  is  to  be  faith¬ 
fully  and  regularly  instructed  in  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Christian  religion — the  youth  of  the  Church  in  particular 
is  to  be  trained  in  these  truths.  That  is  another  distinctive 
principle  and  practice  of  the  Christian  Reformed  denom¬ 
ination.  From  the  beginning  it  laid  emphasis  on  catechet¬ 
ical  instruction,  even  as  the  Church  of  the  fathers  did. 
This  peculiar  name  for  this  religious  education  is,  like  the 
word  Catechism  itself,  derived  from  a  Greek  word  of 
which  the  word  “echo”  is  a  cognate  form.  The  etymology, 
however,  suggests  a  descending  rather  than  a  reverber¬ 
ating  sound.  Whether  that  “descending”  had  to  do  with 
the  raised  platform  of  the  teacher  or  the  authority  vested 
in  him,  is  a  matter  of  dispute.  Possibly  both  of  these 
ideas  are  correct.  In  the  general  sense  of  imparting  oral 
information,  related  words  are  used  in  Luke  1:4;  Acts 
18:  25;  21:  21;  Rom.  2:  18,  etc.  Inasmuch  as  oral  instruc¬ 
tion  in  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity  was  the  original 
method  to  prepare  people  for  baptism,  the  terms  came  into 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


217 


use  to  designate  the  elementary  religious  instruction  as 
imparted  by  the  Church.  Catechetical  instruction  is  based 
on  Holy  Writ.  God  had  known  Abram,  the  Bible  tells  us, 
to  the  end  that  he  might  command  his  children  to  keep  the 
way  of  Jehovah  (Gen.  18:  19),  and  in  the  Old  Testament 
the  duty  is  stressed  time  and  again.  Jesus  impressed  on 
Peter  the  feeding  of  the  lambs  of  the  fold,  John  21 :  15.  In 
harmony  with  this  we  find  catechetical  instruction  in  all 
churches  of  Christendom,  and  that  not  alone  in  the  Old 
World  but  also  in  the  New.  Some  have  decried  our  in¬ 
struction  of  this  kind  as  “Dutch”,  and  consequently  un- 
American.  But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case.  The  Pil¬ 
grim  Fathers  and  Puritans  brought  their  catechisms  along 
and  faithfully  instructed  their  young  people  in  their 
truths.  The  New  England  Primer  was  a  catechism,  and 
“it  contributed  perhaps  more  than  any  other  book,  except 
the  Bible,  to  the  molding  of  those  sturdy  generations  that 
gave  to  America  its  liberty  and  its  institutions”  (Betts, 
History  of  Religions  Education,  p.  37;  1923).  Watts’  cate¬ 
chisms  have  been  in  use  a  long  time  among  the  best  Amer¬ 
ican  people,  and  the  Westminster  Catechism  is  being 
faithfully  taught  to  the  Presbyterians  of  the  South,  and  to 
the  Covenanters  of  the  North — Americans  of  the  oldest 
and  sturdiest  stock.  In  fact,  in  recent  years,  the  confes¬ 
sion  is  made  repeatedly  in  American  denominational  jour¬ 
nals,  that  churches  which  allowed  catechetical  instruction 
to  be  neglected,  made  a  fatal  mistake  and  in  the  “week¬ 
day  religious  instruction  classes”  there  is  revived,  under  a 
new  name  and  with  improved  methods,  what  our  fathers 
have  maintained,  thank  God,  to  this  day — catechetical 
instruction. 

This  may  be  defined  as  the  educational  work  of  the 
Church  through  its  ministry,  to  bring  the  children  of  the 
Covenant  of  grace  to  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  maturity, 
to  a  walking  in  Covenant  ways,  to  inherit  the  blessings  of 
the  Covenant,  to  build  up  the  Church  and  to  assist  in 


218 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


carrying  out  its  mission.  The  sacred,  essential  truths  are 
to  be  imbedded  and  anchored  in  the  mind;  the  emotions 
are  to  be  aroused  to  take  a  living  interest  in  them,  the  will 
is  to  be  bent  so  that  it  may  come  to  embrace  God’s  truth, 
and  accept  the  God  of  that  truth  as  Sovereign  and  Father 
in  Christ,  and  to  devote  the  entire  life,  its  talents  and  its 
possessions,  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  coming  of  His 
Kingdom.  All  of  this  is  aimed  at  in  the  blessed  work,  “that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto 
all  good  works”,  II  Tim.  3:  17.  Prof.  W.  Heyns,  whose  de¬ 
finition  of  the  subject  we  adapted,  states  in  his  Cateche- 
tiek,  that  the  basis  of  the  work  lies  in  the  Covenant  of 
grace.  The  children  of  the  Church  belong  to  that  Cove¬ 
nant,  are  partakers  of  its  blessings,  and  consequently  are 
under  its  ministry.  The  character  of  this  religious  educa¬ 
tion  is  religious,  ecclesiastical,  authoritative,  and  elemen¬ 
tary.  By  religious  is  meant  that  its  contents  are  not  to  be 
those  of  secular  education,  but  distinctly  of  spiritual 
things,  pertaining  to  the  Covenant  of  grace.  Ecclesiastical 
signifies  that  the  Church  as  such,  through  its  ministry,  im¬ 
parts  the  instruction,  and  because  of  this  it  is  authoritative 
with  Christ’s  commandment  back  of  it  (Matt.  28:  19;  Mark 
16:  16),  and  attendance  upon  it  a  matter  of  sacred  duty, 
to  which,  moreover,  in  the  Reformed  Churches,  the  par¬ 
ents  openly  bind  themselves  as  a  part  of  the  vows  made  at 
the  baptism  of  their  children.  That  the  instruction  is  to  be 
elementary  is  a  matter  of  course.  The  aim  of  the  work  is 
not  to  train  the  ministry  of  the  Church  by  means  of  this. 
The  Theological  School  serves  that  purpose.  (Chapter 
VI,  §1 — §4.) 

Its  aim  is  rather  to  bring  the  children  of  the  Church  to 
their  maturity,  their  majority,  as  ordinary  church-mem¬ 
bers  in  full  communion,  to  know  the  fundamentals  of  re¬ 
ligion,  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  the  Covenant,  to  inherit  its 
blessings  and  then  give  themselves  in  personal,  believing 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


219 


consecration,  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church  formed  by 
God’s  Covenant  people,  and  to  assist  in  the  carrying  out  of 
its  mission.  This  is  a  glorious  objective,  although  a  diffi¬ 
cult  one.  But  very  essential.  Especially  in  our  country 
and  age,  with  winds  of  all  kinds  of  doctrines  blowing, 
much  superficiality  abroad,  and  but  little  time  somehow, 
for  thorough  study  of  fundamentals,  the  importance  of 
this  branch  of  Kingdom  activity  can  not  easily  be  over¬ 
emphasized.  The  1922  Synod  was  reminded  of  “the  great 
importance  of  this  instruction  for  our  youth,  the  dangers 
that  threaten  this  institution  in  our  country,  and  the  pos¬ 
sibility  that  we  ourselves  enhance  these  dangers  by  neg¬ 
lecting  to  improve  the  instruction.  Hence  the  expressed 
desire  for  obtaining  greater  unity  in  the  matter,  a  graded 
system  adapted  to  the  gradually  increasing  intellectual, 
moral  and  spiritual  needs  of  the  children,  as  well  as  for 
improvement  in  the  matter  of  promotion,  methods  of  in¬ 
struction  and  equipment.  The  Synod  of  1912  decided  that 
the  higher  Catechetical  classes  were  to  study  the  “Com¬ 
pendium”  and  the  “Catechism”,  (Chapter  VIII,  §1).  For 
classes  conducted  in  English  the  Synod  recommended  the 
series  of  Catechetical  books  published  by  the  Revs.  H. 
Beets  and  M.  J.  Bosma:  Borstius’  Primer  of  Bible  Truths, 
Sacred  History  for  Juniors,  Sacred  History  for  Seniors, 
and  Compendium  of  the  Christian  Religion  Enlarged. 

May  catechetical  instruction,  the  sheet-anchor  of  a 
truly  Reformed  Church,  ever  be  our  cherished  asset.  Even 
outsiders  have  come  to  “recognize  that  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church  has  a  most  excellent  program  of  Christian 
education  based  on  sound  principles  and  operating  most 
effectively”.  But  our  motto  should  be:  “Excelsior’.. 

§5.  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

In  Chapter  VI,  §6,  we  mentioned  that  the  principle  of 
education  in  Christian  Schools  is  a  part  of  the  Church  Or- 


220 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


der,  Article  21.  In  regard  to  this  matter  also  we  may  speak 
of  a  distinctive  principle  and  practice  of  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church,  for  which  good  reasons  can  be  advanced. 
That  principle ,  a  very  fundamental  one,  is  given  by  Mr. 
B.  J.  Bennink  as  follows: 

“This  principle  circles  around  the  simple  but  important 
question :  The  child,  whose  is  it?  Now  its  answer  is  read¬ 
ily  given  and  agreed  to  by  all :  the  child  naturally  belongs 
to  the  parents  who  gave  him  birth. 

“In  Socialistic  circles  the  old  Platonic  idea  that  chil¬ 
dren  belong  to  the  State  may  still  be  held,  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  may  sanction  the  idea  that  the  Church  owns  the 
child,  the  man  whose  mind  is  unbiased  will  unhesitatingly 
declare,  surely  the  child  belongs  to  the  parents,  and — they 
are  its  responsible  educators. 

“Let  us  grasp  and  hold  to  this  basic  truth,  it  settles  the 
right  of  existence  for  the  Christian  School  fundamentally 
and  radically. 

“The  State  is  greatly  interested  in  the  coming  genera¬ 
tion  as  its  future  citizens,  but  they  are  ‘minors’,  and  as 
such  entirely  in  charge  of  the  parents  to  whom  their 
bringing-up  is  left,  both  as  to  body  and  mind,  and  only  in 
case  of  extreme  neglect  may  the  State  interfere  in  behalf 
of  the  delinquent. 

“Of  course,  the  State  as  well  as  the  Church  is  entitled 
to  supervision  of  the  work  of  the  parents  in  educating  the 
child,  but  both  Church  and  State  should  refrain  from  tak¬ 
ing  the  children  away  from  their  parents  and  function  as 
schoolmaster. 

“Thus  the  school  originates  from  the  parents;  they 
erect  and  maintain  it,  engage  a  teacher  and  pay  him,  and 
determine  the  quality  and  quantity  of  instruction  to  be 
given.  State  and  Church  watch  with  deep  interest  these 
doings  of  the  parents,  give  advice,  if  necessary,  so  as  to 
produce  the  wished-for  results,  but  in  no  way  should  they 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


221 


molest  the  parents  in  the  execution  of  their  most  impor¬ 
tant  and  undeniable  right  to  educate  their  own  children. 

“From  this  sound  principle  springs  forth  the  free  and 
independent  school  of  a  free  and  independent  people.  But 
there  is  more. 

“We  do  not  only  call  our  school  free ,  but  also  Chris¬ 
tian.  These  two  qualifications  are  essential.  The  adjective 
‘Christian’  in  our  days  has  a  general  and  a  specific  mean¬ 
ing.  Its  general  meaning  is  quite  well  synonymous  with 
civilized,  and  as  such  it  may  be  attributed  to  anything  not 
pagan.  But  Reformed  people  have  an  altogether  different 
conception  of  the  word  Christian.  They  take  it  in  the  only 
real,  Biblical  sense,  and  then  its  meaning  is  directly  and 
absolutely  connected  with  the  conception  they  have  of  the 
Christy  revealed  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Redeemer  of  His 
people,  whom  they  acknowledge  and  honor  as  their 
Prophet,  Priest,  and  King;  Christ,  the  ‘last  Adam’,  in  the 
Covenant  of  Grace,  in  whom  their  children  are  sanctified 
because  they  are  born  as  the  children  of  that  Covenant.” 

In  the  Young  Calvinist ,  September,  1923,  the  Rev.  H.  J. 
Kuiper  mentions  as  an  additional  scriptural  principle  that 
all  knowledge  and  science  should  be  in  harmony  with  the 
Bible. 

“One  of  the  principal  functions  of  a  school  is  to  give 
instruction  in  various  branches  of  study  of  which  the  child 
must  have  some  knowledge  to  be  equipped  for  its  task  in 
life.  It  must  be  able  to  read  and  write  and  figure.  It 
must  know  something  about  its  own  body,  the  earth,  its 
country  and  its  history.  The  underlying  and  guiding 
principles  in  all  these  branches  of  study  (relating,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  to  the  origin  of  the  earth,  the  origin  and  purpose  of 
government)  are  matters  of  faith .  Here  the  ways  of  the 
believer  and  the  unbeliever  must  part.  The  true  believer 
finds  these  principles  in  Scripture,  which  the  unbelieving 
world  does  not  receive  because  it  is  blind  and  hostile  to 


222 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


the  truth.  Our  children  cannot  arrive  at  “a  life  and  world 
view”  which  is  in  harmony  with  the  truth  as  revealed  in 
the  Word  of  God  unless  the  instruction  which  they  receive 
is  permeated  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  this 
Word. 

“Scripture  teaches  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  wisdom  and  of  knowledge.  Without  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  as  taught  in  Scripture,  and  (in  the  subjective 
sense)  as  present  in  the  heart,  true  knowledge,  knowledge 
of  the  origin  and  meaning  and  purpose  of  all  things,  is 
simply  impossible.  This  text  plainly  shows  how  insep¬ 
arable  the  connection  is  between  true  religion  and  true 
science.  Without  religion  (the  fear  of  the  Lord)  no  real 
knowledge  or  science.  One  may  know  many  facts  and 
have  much  learning,  but  unless  he  is  a  Christian,  he  has 
no  knowledge ,  in  the  deepest  sense  of  the  word.” 

On  the  basis  of  these  fundamental  principles,  we  can 
name  several  reasons  to  substantiate  and  affirm  them. 

(1)  The  vow  made  by  parents  at  the  baptism  of  their 
children  to  see  the  children  instructed  and  brought  up  in 
the  aforesaid  doctrines  of  our  religion. 

(2)  Our  love  of  the  Word  of  God  demands  a  place  for 
it  in  the  day  school  as  well  as  in  the  home,  and  in  the 
Sunday  school. 

(3)  As  lovers  of  Christian  song  we  want  our  children 
to  sing  of  their  Redeemer  as  well  as  of  their  Creator, 
something  which  state  institutions  do  not  allow. 

(4)  We  want  prayer  made  in  Christ’s  name  in  the 
school,  and  for  obvious  reasons  this,  too,  cannot  be  done  in 
public  schools. 

(5)  We  desire  religion  to  permeate  not  alone  all  of 
our  life,  but  likewise  all  of  the  education  of  the  Covenant 
children.  We  want  to  make  “religious  education  an  in- 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


223 


tegral  part  of  the  child’s  education  throughout  the  whole 
period  of  its  plastic  development,  building  religious  con¬ 
cepts,  attitudes,  and  habits  into  the  expanding  life  from 
the  first,  so  that  they  may  become  an  inseparable  part  of 
its  structure”.  (G.  H.  Betts,  New  Program  of  Religious 
Education.) 

(6)  Our  conception  of  the  aim  of  life  differs  radically 
from  that  of  the  world.  We  consider  its  chief  aim  to  glor¬ 
ify  God  and  to  enjoy  Him  forever.  Secular  education  un¬ 
der  state  control  cannot  very  well  aim  higher  than  good 
citizenship  and  success. 

(7)  Our  view  of  mankind  as  fallen  and  in  absolute 
need  of  the  regenerating  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  pledged 
to  our  children  in  Baptism,  is  radically  different  from  that 
of  the  world,  especially  as  it  is  under  the  spell  of  the  evo¬ 
lutionary  hypothesis. 

(8)  As  Christian  patriots  we  demand  religious  train¬ 
ing  as  a  basis  for  morality.  The  “Father  of  his  country” 
already  warned  us  to  “indulge  with  caution  the  supposi¬ 
tion  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion”, 
and  history  has  proven  time  and  again  that  Washington 
was  right  on  the  subject.  Without  religious  authority 
morality  is  built  on  sand.  (Compare  the  Ordinance  of  the 
Northwest,  1787.) 

(9)  The  acknowledged  purpose  of  education  being 
training  of  character  and  training  for  leadership,  we  be¬ 
lieve  that  religion  should  be  an  integral  part  of  this  train¬ 
ing,  that  there  may  be  a  proper  reckoning  with  God,  His 
revelation  and  His  judgment-day. 

(10)  The  avowed  purpose  of  our  people’s  coming 
hither  (Chapter  I,  §8)  obligates  us  to  give  our  children  a 
Christian  education. 

Since  it  is  impossible,  in  fairness  to  our  fellow-citizens 
who  hold  entirely  different  views  concerning  the  above- 


224 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


named  important  matters,  to  have  the  public  schools  thor¬ 
oughly  Christian,  the  only  alternative  left  us  is  to  erect 
and  maintain  free  Christian  schools.  May  all  orthodox 
Christians  come  to  see  this,  also  as  a  matter  of  consistency, 
since  all  denominations  believe  in  having  secondary  and 
higher  schools  of  a  Christian  character  at  home  and  Chris¬ 
tian  primary  schools  in  foreign  mission  fields.  This  is 
also  in  accordance  with  American  tradition  since  the 
founders  of  our  national  life  maintained  Christian  schools, 
as  history  shows  and  such  books  as  the  New  England 
Primer ,  named  in  §4,  abundantly  prove. 

§6.  THE  SEPARATED  LIFE:  SECRET  ORDERS  AND 

WORLDLY  AMUSEMENTS 

The  Word  of  God  calls  God’s  children  a  “peculiar 
people”,  a  people  of  God’s  own  possession  (Titus  2:  14; 
I  Peter  2:9);  “unspotted  from  the  world”  (James  1:  17). 
While  this  cannot  be  carried  out  fully  in  this  dispensa¬ 
tion,  “for  then  ye  must  needs  go  out  of  the  world”  (I  Cor. 
5:  10),  in  which  we  must  be  a  salt  and  a  leaven  (Matt. 
5:  13),  it  must  be  the  aim  of  the  Christian  to  keep  himself 
aloof  as  much  as  possible  from  sinful  entanglements. 
“Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers”  is  the  apostolic 
injunction  (II  Cor.  6:  14).  This  applies  to  marriages  and 
other  relationships  of  life.  The  Christian  Reformed 
Church  has  been  led  to  apply  this  principle  of  separation 
especially  to  two  matters:  Secret  orders  and  worldly 
amusements. 

Secret  Orders  have  from  the  beginning  been  con¬ 
demned  as  fellowships  to  be  avoided  as  incompatible  with 
membership  in  good  standing,  and  as  we  related,  this 
stand  has  been  repeatedly  affirmed.  Secret  Orders  or  So- 
cities  have  been  defined  as  human,  public  organizations 
which  conceal  their  principles  and  practices,  more  or  less, 
from  the  public.  We  distinguish,  of  course,  between 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


225 


privacy  and  secrecy.  Privacy  relates  to  the  judicious  con¬ 
cealment  from  public  view  of  that  which  concerns  our¬ 
selves  only,  as  individuals,  families,  or  societies.  Secrecy 
as  applied  to  secret  societies,  relates  to  the  intentional  con¬ 
cealment  by  a  public  institution  of  that  which  in  some 
measure  concerns  all  of  us.  But  why  oppose  them  and  in¬ 
sist  on  the  separated  life  of  the  membership  of  the  Church 
in  this  regard?  We  reply:  Secret  societies  are  contrary 
to  the  Word  of  God. 

(1)  Principally,  because  their  initiation  oaths,  bind¬ 
ing  to  things  not  yet  made  known  to  the  candidate  for  ad¬ 
mission,  are  unscriptural.  (Lev.  5:4-6;  Matt.  14:6-10.) 
The  oath  is  the  bond  of  society  in  promoting  trustworthi¬ 
ness  among  men.  It  accomplishes  this  in  various  ways: 
In  solemnizing  covenants,  Gen.  14:22,  23;  26:26-29;  in 
solemnizing  testimony,  Ex.  22:10,  11;  Num.  5:19-24; 
Heb.  6:  16;  in  confirming  vows  of  loyalty  to  sovereigns  and 
leaders,  Eccl.  8:  2;  2  Kings  11:  4;  2:2;  in  promoting  fidel¬ 
ity  to  official  trust,  1  Sam.  12:  5.  The  oath  should  there¬ 
fore  be  considered  very  solemn,  only  to  be  uttered  when 
the  God-ordained  magistrates  or  God’s  honor  and  the 
safety  of  our  fellowmen  require  it.  Now  it  is  very  evi¬ 
dent  that  the  heads  of  the  different  lodges  are  not  “God- 
ordained  magistrates”,  and  therefore  have  no  authority  to 
administer  oaths. 

It  is  also  plain  that  the  honor  of  God  or  the  safety  of 
our  fellowmen  does  not  necessitate  such  solemn  oaths. 

These  oaths  are  therefore  unwarranted;  and  being  so, 
are  sinful.  And  this  puts  the  case  but  mildly.  Some  of 
the  oaths  administered  in  Masonic  degrees  are  open  to 
even  far  more  serious  objection,  so  that  the  epithets  of 
“terrible”  and  “fearful”  have  not  unjustly  been  applied 
to  them. 

(2)  The  secrecy  of  these  societies  in  general  is  un¬ 
scriptural,  John  3:  19-21 ;  18:  20.  Good  things  should  be 


226 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


revealed;  bad  things  should  not  be  concealed.  The  Church 
of  Christ  is  an  open  institution,  Isaiah  55:  1;  Rev.  22:  17. 

(3)  Their  selfishness  is  unscrip tural,  Luke  10 :  30-37 ; 
Eph.  6:10;  1  Peter  5:17;  Gal.  5:  2.  The  Church  of  Christ 
inculcates  the  spirit  of  unselfishness  and  love  to  all  men, 
whereas  the  “charity”  of  lodges  is  nothing  higher  than  that 
of  the  publicans  of  which  the  Savior  spoke,  Matt.  5:  “If 
ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have  you?”  We 
look  upon  the  beneficiary  efforts  as  simply  “business” 
propositions.  Only  a  certain  class  of  people  is  admitted 
into  the  lodge,  at  a  certain  age,  in  good  health,  and  those 
admitted  only  get  out  of  it  on  an  average  what  has  been 
put  in,  minus  the  salaries  of  the  officers,  etc. 

Now  we  do  not  condemn  it  that  the  beneficiary  work  is 
put  on  a  solid  basis — far  from  it.  But  that  those  features 
which  are  business  propositions  pure  and  simple  are  time 
and  again  heralded  as  “charity”,  that  is  what  we  object  to. 

(4)  Their  binding  together  in  a  common  brotherhood 
the  godly  and  the  ungodly  is  unscrip  tural,  2  Cor.  6:  14. 
The  Church  of  Christ  binds  together  in  a  common  brother¬ 
hood  all  true  believers  who  are  made  one  in  character  and 
life  through  Christ,  1  Cor.  10:  17;  John  6:  48. 

(5)  There  are  grounds  to  fear  that  the  lodge  at  times 
has  tried  to  be  “an  empire  within  and  empire”  to  the  detri¬ 
ment  of  justice  to  all  and  special  privileges  to  none,  to 
say  the  least.  History  testifies  to  this  in  America.  And 
from  as  far  away  as  the  Philippines,  the  dailies  of  Novem¬ 
ber  20,  1923,  carried  the  news  that  municipal  officials  of 
these  islands  were  forbidden  to  join  secret  orders  because 
as  stated:  “In  such  organizations  members  are  inclined, 
in  accordance  with  secret  vows  or  rituals,  to  enforce  the 
law  less  rigorously  whenever  fellow-members  are  affected 
unfavorably”. 

(6)  Our  sixth  objection  is  the  nomenclature  of  most 
lodges.  We  consider  some  of  that  immodest,  if  not  hi- 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


227 


dicrons ,  and  unrepublican ,  and  some  even  blasphemous. 
That  different  officers  and  members  call  themselves  chan¬ 
cellor  commanders,  knights,  sir  knights,  nobles,  princes 
and  potentates  is  to  onr  mind  most  immodest  and  un-re¬ 
publican,  if  not  ridiculous  and  bombastic,  savoring  too 
much  of  child’s  play  and  unworthy  of  serious  men.  The 
same  can  be  said  of  some  paraphernalia.  But  our  greatest 
objection  is  against  names  which  we  consider  blas¬ 
phemous.  These  are  found  especially  among  the  Masons. 
To  call  a  child  of  dust  a  “worshipful  master”,  like  the  head 
of  a  local  Masonic  lodge  is  called,  we  consider  sinful. 
The  same  is  true  of  titles  like  the  following:  “Mystic  Or¬ 
der  of  Veiled  Prophets  of  the  Enchanted  Realm”,  “Thrice 
Illustrious  Knights  of  the  Cross”,  “Princes  of  Jerusalem”, 
“Degree  of  Perfection  or  Grand-Elect  Perfect  and  Sublime 
Masons”,  etc.  It  seems  to  us  any  Christian  who  weighs 
each  of  these  names  well  will  admit  that  they  are  not 
alone  contrary  to  all  modesty  but,  as  we  said,  of  a  blas¬ 
phemous  character.  No  sinner  (as  each  of  us  is)  ought  to 
dare  to  assume  such  names  and  titles,  full  of  the  most 
solemn  significance. 

(7)  Another  objection  to  the  secret  societies  is:  many 
of  their  ceremonies  are  either  too  frivolous  for  an  earnest 
Christian  to  engage  in,  or  too  dangerous,  and  therefore 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  God’s  command,  “Thou  shalt  not 
kill”.  The  frivolity  of  some  ceremonies  is  too  evident  to 
need  any  illustration,  and  the  daily  papers  time  and  again 
contain  notices  of  accidents  and  deaths  caused  by  different 
initiation  ceremonies. 

(8)  Our  eighth  objection  is  the  use  or  rather  abuse  of 
the  Bible  in  the  lodge  ritual.  In  the  ritual  of  the  Wood¬ 
men  some  texts  are  quoted  which  are  far  too  exalted  in 
meaning  to  be  used  as  such.  For  instance,  when  it  speaks 
of  the  apple-tree  and  the  north  wind,  taken  from  the  Song 


228 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


of  Solomon,  and  commonly  explained  to  refer  to  no  less 
hallowed  ones  than  our  Savior  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

In  the  Odd  Fellows’  ritual  an  unwarranted  use  is  made 
of  the  parable  of  the  Samaritan.  Similar  things  could  be 
stated  in  regard  to  other  lodges.  And  to  this  unwarranted 
use  of  the  Word  of  God  we  are  strongly  opposed.  The 
Bible  is  far  too  sacred  a  book  to  be  used  to  lend  dignity 
and  solemnity  to  meetings  not  exclusively  Christian  and 
certainly  not  intended  to  be  meetings  for  divine  worship. 

(9)  Finally,  our  objection  against  the  lodge  is  that, 
while  Christ  as  the  Savior  is  virtually  excluded ,  deceased 
members  are  nevertheless  often  declared  saved  when  the 
burial  service  is  read.  The  ritual  of  the  Woodmen,  e.g., 
contains  the  expression:  “He  shall  live  in  the  eternal 
glories  of  his  Maker.”  This  is  read  alike  over  the  remains 
of  unbelievers  as  well  as  of  saints,  and  since  Christ’s  is 
the  only  name  under  heaven  by  which  we  are  to  be  saved, 
therefore  we  consider  it  unwarranted  and  soul-deluding 
that  any  such  statements  are  uttered,  Tim.  3:  15,  16;  John 
8:  32;  Matt.  28:  20. 

Of  course,  we  do  not  claim  that  secret  societies  are  all 
equally  objectionable.  They  have  many  members  who  are 
better  than  the  systems  themselves.  But  on  the  grounds 
given,  membership  in  them  is  incompatible  with  that  of 
membership  in  the  denomination  whose  stand  we 
described. 

Worldly  Amusements ,  such  as  card  playing ,  theatre- 
going  and  dancing  are  also  held  to  be  contrary  to  the  de¬ 
mands  of  a  really  separated  life.  Why? 

I.  Each  has  its  peculiar  element  of  danger. 

(1)  The  fascination  of  cards  is  the  so-called  element 
of  chance.  Chance  is  that  which  happens  without  any 
known  cause.  The  reason  that  card  playing  is  more  popu- 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


229 


lar  than  other  games  of  chance  is  “because  this  strange 
assembly  of  pasteboards,  with  their  varying  values,  ad¬ 
mits  of  infinite  multiplying  and  balancing  of  chances.” 
In  every  normal  person  four  faculties  of  the  soul  are  the 
basis  of  conduct — reason,  conscience,  affections,  and  will. 
The  element  of  chance  hinders  and  attacks  the  free  opera¬ 
tion  of  these  faculties.  The  mind  is  thrown  into  confu¬ 
sion  and  feverish  excitement,  and  hopes  against  hope. 
“Constant  playing  produces  aggravated  stimulations  which 
amount  to  intoxication.  This,  again,  produces  enervation 
and  effects  for  evil  the  whole  intellectual  and  moral  na¬ 
ture.  Card-playing  finally  leads  to  gambling,  by  dem  in.l- 
ing  the  added  excitement  of  possible  gain,  and  gambling 
to  all  kinds  of  dishonesty  and  deception”.  Moreover,  as 
Dr.  Kuyper  puts  it  ( Stone  Lectures ,  p.  93),  “Card-playing 
fosters  in  our  heart  the  dangerous  tendency  to  look  away 
from  God,  and  to  put  our  trust  in  Fortune  or  Luck,  placing 
Fortune  above  the  disposition  of  God,  and  the  hankering 
after  Chance  above  the  firm  confidence  in  His  Will.  To 
fear  God,  and  to  bid  for  favors  of  Fortune,  seems  to  the 
Calvinist  as  irreconcilable  as  fire  and  water.” 

(2)  The  fascination  of  the  theatre  is  the  element  of 
entertainment.  The  theatre  is  a  playhouse.  Education, 
morality,  public  welfare — everything  is  subordinated  to 
the  one  demand  for  entertainment.  In  providing  this  the 
theatre  too  frequently  appeals  to  the  unreal  and  sensa¬ 
tional,  and  provides  plays  that  exalt  vice  and  debase  vir¬ 
tue.  The  entertainers  frequently  are  or  become  men  and 
women  of  loose  character,  involving  moral  sacrifice  which 
ruins  souls  and  strikes  at  the  foundation  of  society,  while 
the  constant  and  ever-changing  presentation  of  the  char¬ 
acter  of  other  persons  hampers  the  molding  of  one’s  own 
personal  character.  (Cf.  Stone  Lectures,  p.  94). 

(3)  The  fascination  of  dancing  is  the  element  of  sex. 
Dancing  is  the  only  amusement  demanding  for  its  popu- 


230 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


larity  the  participation  of  both  sexes.  Sex  invests  it  with 
its  chief est  charm.  “Passion,  however  skillfully  veiled, 
lies  at  the  basis  of  the  modern  dance”.  The  impure  sug¬ 
gestion  is  often  more  manifest  in  the  afterthought  than  in 
the  act  of  dancing.  To  defend  the  modern  dance  from  the 
Scriptures  (Eccl.  3:4)  is  to  manifest  ignorance  and  to  be 
almost  guilty  of  sacrilege. 

II.  All  three  have  objectionable  elements  in  common. 

(1)  They  are  alike  perversions  of  good  things,  name¬ 
ly,  the  lot,  fiction,  and  the  social  mingling  of  the  sexes.  It 
is  evident  that  they  are  perversions  because  they  render 
wholesome  amusements  tame  and  unsatisfying. 

(2)  They  are  alike  worldly  and  should  not  be  classed 
as  “questionable”.  The  fruit  borne  by  them  shows  that 
their  origin  is  not  good.  Matt.  7 :  17,  18. 

(3)  They  are  alike  hostile  to  true  religion  in  its  in¬ 
ception  and  progress.  It  seems  impossible  to  be  devoted  to 
them  and  at  the  same  time  be  whole-heartedly  consecrated 
to  God  and  His  service.  Gal.  5:  16,  17;  Matt.  6:  24. 

(4)  They  are  alike  in  seeking  the  ruin  of  the  young. 
Eccl.  11:9. 

III.  All  three  are  condemned  as  unfit  for  Christians. 

(1)  By  God’s  Word.  1  Cor.  10:  31;  Heb.  12:  1;  Matt. 
6:  24;  Rom.  12:  2;  8:  5-8;  1  John  2:  15-17;  Col.  3:  1,  2;  Gal. 
5:  19-25;  6:  7,  8. 

(2)  By  the  Church  of  Christ.  1  Peter  2 :  9. 

(3)  By  the  enlightened  Christian  conscience.  Rom. 
14:  23. 

(4)  By  the  exacting  judgment  of  the  unconverted. 
2  Sam.  12:  14;  Rom.  2:  24J> 


U  We  are  considerably  indebted  regarding  the  material  given  in 
§6  to  the  “Manual  of  Doctrine”,  (Reformed  Presbyterian  Church), 
edited  by  Rev.  C.  McLeod  Smith,  published  in  1911. 


DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICES 


231 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  do  you  understand  by  Calvinism? 

2.  What  does  Dr.  Warfield  say  about  the  nature  of  Calvinism 
and  the  things  it  emphasizes? 

3.  Why  do  we  use  the  Psalter  as  our  chief  manual  of  public 
praise? 

4.  What  can  you  say  about  the  Psalter  version  in  use  among  us? 

5.  Why  does  the  Church  insist  on  Catechism  preaching? 

6.  What  is  the  nature  and  purpose  of  Catechetical  instruction? 
Which  benefits  have  you  derived  from  it? 

7.  What  are  the  fundamental  principles  underlying  the  Chris¬ 
tian  education  movement? 

8.  Which  of  the  ten  reasons  based  on  these  principles  appear 
the  strongest  to  you? 

9.  Which  are  our  chief  reasons  for  our  stand  against  secret 
orders? 

10.  Why  does  the  separated  life  involve  a  shunning  of  worldly 
amusements? 

REFERENCES 

Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  “Calvinism,  Six  Stone  Lectures.” 

Dr.  S.  L.  Morris,  “Presbyterianism,  Its  Principles  and  Practice.” 

N.  S.  McFetridge,  “Calvinism  in  History.” 

“Calvin  and  the  Reformation”,  by  Doumergue,  Lang,  Bavinck 
and  Warfield. 

Prof.  L.  Berkhof,  “Subjects  and  Outlines.” 

Prof.  W.  Heyns,  “Handboek  voor  de  Catechetiek.” 

Dr.  M.  Reu,  “Catechetics.” 

Dr.  J.  McNaugher,  et.  al.,  “The  Psalms  in  Worship.” 

Dr.  D.  T.  Bonner,  “The  Psalmody  Question.” 

Books  by  Dr.  Charles  A.  Blanchard  and  others  on  Secret  Orders, 
published  by  the  National  Christian  Association,  850  West 
Madison  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT 

AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


Introductory:  The  Why  of  Church  Government  and  Church  Order. 
§1.  Other  Systems  of  Church  Government.  §2.  The  Presby¬ 
terian  or  Reformed  System  and  its  Principles.  §3.  The  Judica¬ 
tories  of  the  Church.  §4.  History,  Character  and  Authority  of 
the  Church  Order.  §5.  Outline  of  the  Church  Order  of  1914. 
§6.  Church  Visitation  Questions. 

INTRODUCTORY:  THE  WHY  OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT 

AND  CHURCH  ORDER 

THERE  HAVE  been  and  are  people  who,  on  principle, 
are  opposed  to  any  such  rules  and  regulations  as  in¬ 
volved  in  this  Chapter.  The  Quakers  and  Plymouth 
Brethren  hold  that  the  Church  is  an  exclusively  spiritual 
body,  destitute  of  all  organization,  bound  together  only  by 
their  mutual  relation  to  their  common  Lord.  The  Church, 
according  to  this  theory,  so  far  as  outward  bonds  are  con¬ 
cerned,  is  only  an  aggregation  of  isolated  units,  saints, 
brethren,  disciples.  This  view  confounds  the  visible  with 
the  invisible  Church.  The  people  speaking  of  “optional 
Church  government”,  hold  a  related  theory.  The  form  of 
Church  polity  is  simply  a  matter  of  expediency.  Each  body 
of  believers  may  adopt  such  methods  of  organization  as  it 
considers  most  convenient  and  efficient — thus  opening  the 
door  to  all  kinds  of  arbitrariness. 

Over  against  this  the  great  majority  of  Christians  have 
always  held  to  the  necessity  of  some  form  of  outward 
organization  and  rules  and  regulations  governing  it.  As  a 
flock  needs  a  shepherd,  a  body  and  a  family  a  head,  so 
with  the  flock  of  Christ,  the  body  of  believers,  the  house¬ 
hold  of  God.  The  necessity  of  this  is  seen  at  once  if  we 
consider  that  believers  have  many  common  interests,  a 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


233 


common  task,  and  sometimes  are  confronted  by  a  com¬ 
mon  foe.  Lack  of  all  outward  organization  would  render 
it  impossible  to  fulfill  its  calling  properly.  Therefore  we 
find  our  Lord  instituting  the  apostolate  even  before  the 
Church  in  its  New  Testament  form  was  constituted.  More¬ 
over,  the  Bible  speaks  of  ruling  elders,  of  “governments”, 
(1  Cor.  12:  28),  and  Paul  admonishes  that  “all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order”.  1  Cor.  14:  40.  (Cf.  Article 
XXX,  Confession  of  Faith.) 

In  a  notable  address  given  at  a  meeting  of  the  Federa¬ 
tion  of  Reformed  Churches  of  Germany,  Sept.,  1923,  in 
the  historical  city  of  Emden,  §4  below,  Dr.  H.  Bouwman, 
of  Kampen,  deduced  the  necessity  of  church  federation 
(kerkverband)  from  the  fact  of  the  unity  of  the  Church 
in  Christ,  John  15;  Eph.  4:6;  Coll.  2:  19;  the  need  the  one 
church  has  of  the  others,  Rom.  15:  26;  II  Cor.  8:  1;  I  Cor. 
12:27;  and  the  maintaining  of  the  liberty  of  local 
churches  in  the  face  of  the  possibility  of  having  its  office¬ 
bearers  lord  it  over  it.  A  church  arbitrarily  keeping  itself 
apart  from  the  rest,  is  apt  to  degenerate  into  a  sect.  More¬ 
over,  different  things  should  not  be  disposed  of  by  one 
local  church,  viz.  those  pertaining  to  their  relation  to 
others,  (gemeenschapsleven)  and  the  fixing  of  general 
principles  of  doctrine,  liturgy,  and  discipline. 


§1.  OTHER  SYSTEMS  OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT 


rvr 


While  the  Church  of  all  ages  has  been  a  unit,  or  prac¬ 
tically  so,  in  deeming  church  government  a  necessity,  there 
is  great  diversity  as  to  the  kind  of  organization  called  for. 
And  just  like  in  civil  government  we  have  several  types, 
so  as  to  that  of  the  Church.  Governments  in  a  political  sense 
are  of  three  general  forms:  the  monarchial,  the  aristocratic, 
and  the  democratic.  A  monarchy  signifies  a  country  “ruled 
by  one”,  having  one  person  at  the  head,  either  ruling  with 
absolute  power,  or  limited  by  a  constitution.  Of  this 


234 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


type  is  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  government,  headed 
by  the  Pope.  The  term  “hierarchy”  or  priest-rule  has  at 
times  been  applied  to  describe  this  and  kindred  types  of 
government.  An  aristocracy ,  also  called  oligarchy ,  that  is. 
rule  by  the  “best”  or  by  the  “few”,  places  the  government 
into  the  hands  of  a  small  number  of  chief  persons.  The 
Episcopalian  denominations  belong  to  this  type.  Democ¬ 
racy  indicates  rule  by  the  people.  All  denominations  fol¬ 
lowing  the  Independent  order  of  church  government  aim 
at  a  democracy  in  the  full  sense.  The  “people,  that  is,  the 
membership  of  the  various  congregations,  rule  the 
churches.  The  leadership  and  authority  of  the  office¬ 
bearers  as  representing  Christ  as  the  head  of  the  church, 
are  practically  set  aside.  Popular  sovereignty  is  embodied 
in  this  form  of  Church  polity.  Each  local  congregation  is 
absolutely  autonomous,  that  is,  independent  of  its  sister 
or  other  organizaitons.  Church  assemblies  of  wider  scope 
have  no  more  than  advisory  power.  Hence  the  name 
“Council”  or  “Conference”,  bodies  without  legislative  au¬ 
thority  whatever.  Confessional  statements  are  merely 
“Declarations”,  of  what  at  the  time  happen  to  be  the  doc¬ 
trinal  views  of  the  majority  of  the  brethren  in  conference. 
Historical  continuity  is  thus  practically  broken.  Indi¬ 
vidualism  predominates.  The  opposite  of  this  Indepen¬ 
dent  extreme  is  Collegialism,  in  which  central  govern¬ 
ment  (“Besturen”)  infringes  unduly  upon  the  autonomy 
or  self-rule  of  the  local  churches.  (Cf.  Chapter  I,  §6.) 

§2.  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  PRINCIPLES 

A  combination  of  the  three  types  just  named  forms 
what  is  called  the  Reformed  or  Presbyterian  System  or 
Order  of  Church  government.  It  is  also  named :  Presby- 
terial-Synodal.  “Presbyterian”  is  derived  from  the  Greek 
word  “presbyter”,  indicating  an  elderly  person.  The  name 
in  the  connection  here  discussed  signifies :  rule  by  elders, 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


235 


i.e.  teaching  and  ruling  elders  of  the  congregations.  His¬ 
torically  the  name  came  into  prominence  as  opposed  to 
rule  by  bishops  as  church  prelates,  although  originally  the 
words  elder  and  bishop  were  synonymous.  (Compare 
Acts  20:  17  and  Acts  20:  28;  Titus  1:  4,  7.)  This  Presby¬ 
terian  system,  held  by  practically  all  Reformed  Churches 
(hence  the  name  Reformed  system),  is  monarchial  be¬ 
cause  it  considers  Christ  the  sole  and  sovereign  Head  of 
the  Church.  (Compare  Chapter  I,  §4.)  It  is  aristocratic 
in  so  far  as  it  holds  that  Christ’s  authority  is  delegated  to 
his  representatives  and  instruments:  the  teaching  and 
ruling  eldership.  And  it  is  democratic  because  it  accords 
to  all  communicant  members  in  good  standing  the  right  to 
share  in  the  government  of  the  church  by  voting  for  its 
officers  and  in  other  ways  cooperating  in  the  activities  of 
the  congregation.  There  is  no  difference  between  ordi¬ 
nary  church-members  as  “laymen”,  and  others  who  com¬ 
pose  the  “clergy”,  even  as  the  “parity”  of  the  ministers  is  a 
fundamental  principle  of  the  system.  (See  Article  84  of 
the  Church  Order  and  compare  Chapter  I,  §4.)  The  fol¬ 
lowing  may  be  called  the  chief  principles  underlying  the 
Presbyterian  order  of  church  government. 

(1)  The  Sovereignty  of  God.  (Compare  Chapter  IX, 
§1).  Christ  has  sovereignly  been  “set”  as  King  over  Zion, 
(Psalm  2:6),  and  God’s  Word  is  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church.  “For  the  Lord  is  our  Judge,  the  Lord  is  our  Law¬ 
giver,  the  Lord  is  our  King”.  (Isaiah  33:  22.) 

(2)  Christ  exercises  His  authority  by  means  of  His 
office-bearers.  They  are  His  “ministers”  or  servants,  His 
instruments.  Their  power  is  not  original.  They  have  no 
authority  for  legislating  laws  not  found  in  or  based  on  the 
Word  of  their  Lord.  Their  power  is  only  declarative,  regu¬ 
lative,  executive,  subject  to  the  Word,  under  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 


236 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


(3)  These  office-bearers  are  called,  in  the  sense  of  be¬ 
ing  designated,  by  the  various  churches  as  instruments, 
not  deriving  their  authority  from  the  congregations  how¬ 
ever —  (such  would  be  a  form  of  popular  sovereignty) — 
but  from  Christ  whom  they  represent. 

(4)  The  various  churches  are  considered  complete 
local  manifestations  of  the  body  of  Christ.  There  is  a 
parity  of  churches  as  well  as  of  office-bearers,  (Article  84, 
Church  Order)  and  each  congregation  possesses  autonomy 
(self-rule),  except  in  so  far  as  it  has  transferred  some  of 
its  rights  to  other  church  judicatories  in  the  interests  of 
Federation  in  classical  or  synodical  organizations.  The 
Reformed  system  in  this  regard  stands  midway  between 
the  extremes  of  a  closely-knit  monarchy,  exemplified  by 
the  Collegialistic  and  other  systems,  and  that  of  the  Inde¬ 
pendents  whose  Confederacy  has  no  more  than  advisory 
power  ( The  Banner,  February  5,  1920.) 

In  a  negative  way  we  may  deduce  from  these  principles 
that  no  decisions  may  be  taken  by  the  authorities  which 
infringe  on  the  sovereignty  of  the  Church’s  head,  or  con¬ 
flict  with  the  parity  of  the  office-bearers  or  churches.  Arbi¬ 
trary  rule  of  one  brother  over  another  or  one  church  or 
judicatory  over  another,  is  forbidden  also.  No  church-rule 
may  arbitrarily  burden  the  members,  infringing  on  their 
Christian  liberty.  Each  regulation  made  must  be  promo¬ 
tive  of  the  order  and  profit  or  welfare  of  the  church. 
(1  Cor.  14:  40;  Eph.  4:  12.)  Regulations  are  to  be  made 
with  “common  consent”,  that  is  by  majority  vote  of  the 
properly  delegated  members  of  the  respective  judicatories. 

§3.  CHURCH  JUDICATORIES  ACCORDING  TO  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  ORDER 

The  Bible  does  not  alone  furnish  authority  for  the  fun¬ 
damental  ideas  of  the  Presbyterian  system  outlined  above, 
but  also  for  the  various  church  courts  or  judicatories  be- 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


237 


longing  to  it.  In  the  15th  chapter  of  Acts  we  read  of  the 
church  at  Antioch  disturbed  by  a  question  of  rites  and 
ceremonies,  a  question  which  could  not  be  settled  locally. 
Hence  it  was  referred  to  a  broader  assembly  at  Jerusalem, 
composed  of  apostles  and  elders.  After  much  delibera¬ 
tion  a  decision  was  made  and  that  decision  was  not  simply 
to  affect  Antioch,  where  the  question  arose,  but  the  entire 
Church.  “And  as  they  went  through  the  cities,  they  deliv¬ 
ered  them  the  decrees  to  keep  which  had  been  ordained 
of  the  apostles  and  elders  that  were  at  Jerusalem.”  Acts 
16 :  4.  In  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  the  following 
judicatories  exist.  The  first  is  the  consistory ,  composed  of 
the  elders,  both  teaching  and  ruling,  in  small  churches 
augmented  by  the  deacons.  These  consistory  members  are 
chosen  by  the  communicant  members  in  good  standing. 
(Compare  Acts  1 :  13-26.)  In  our  Church  Order  rules  gov¬ 
erning  the  consistories  are  found  in  Articles  37 — 40. 

Delegates  from  consistories  comprising  certain  groups 
of  churches,  meet  from  time  to  time  in  a  Classis  or  Presby¬ 
tery,  the  second  judicatory.  (1  Tim.  4:  14.)  Its  duties,  etc., 
are  outlined  in  Articles  41 — 45  of  the  Church  Order.  Only 
teaching  and  ruling  elders  are  eligible  to  represent  their 
consistories,  though  in  exceptional  circumstances  deacons 
may  be  accorded  a  seat.  Specified  numbers  of  both  teach¬ 
ing  and  ruling  elders  in  equal  numbers,  are  delegated  by 
the  classical  judicatories  to  meet  as  a  third  judicatory 
called  a  Synod.  In  the  case  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  the  Synod  comprises  the  representatives  of  all  the 
Classes  of  the  entire  denomination.  See  Article  50  of  the 
Church  Order.  Larger  denominations  have  Particular 
Synods  as  distinguished  from  General  Synods  or  General 
Assemblies,  the  broadest  kind  of  church  judicatories.  (For 
Particular  Synods  see  Articles  47 — 49  of  the  Church 
Order.) 


238 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


§4.  HISTORY,  CHARACTER  AND  AUTHORITY  OF  THE 

CHURCH  ORDER 

The  foundations  of  the  Church  Order  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  of  Dutch  origin  were  laid  during  the  terrible 
days  of  the  bloody  Spanish  and  Romish  persecution  when 
martyr  fires  were  burning  in  the  Netherlands,  but  when 
men  like  Dathenus,  de  Bray,  Marnix,  and  others  held  their 
synodical  meetings  in  Antwerp  and  elsewhere,  already  in 
1563.  A  “Convent”  of  exiled  pastors  and  elders  meeting 
at  Wesel,  1568,  was  particularly  active  in  laying  down  cer¬ 
tain  regulative  principles,  and  still  more  the  Synod  of 
1571,  held  in  the  East  Friesian  city  of  Emden,  the  haven 
of  refuge  of  many  of  our  exiled  forebears.  Other  Synods 
followed,  to  revise,  condense  and  augment  these  articles 
as  the  case  might  be,  until  at  the  great  Synod  of  Dord¬ 
recht,  1618-T9,  the  Church  Order  was  once  more  gone  over 
thoroughly  by  this  National  Synod  of  the  Church  of  our 
fathers,  see  Chapter  I,  §6.  But  not  all  the  Netherland 
churches  were  allowed  by  the  civil  government  to  conduct 
their  affairs  according  to  its  regulations,  even  though  some 
of  them  accorded  more  authority  to  the  “magistracy”  than 
the  principle  of  the  separation  between  Church  and  State 
(see  Chapter  Y,  §6)  allowed.  The  reorganization  of  the 
Netherland  Church  under  King  William  I,  (Chapter  I,  §6), 
practically  shelved  the  Church  Order  of  Dordrecht.  But 
the  fathers  of  the  Dutch  Secession  restored  it  to  authority, 
barring  things  pertaining  to  the  civil  government’s  inter¬ 
ference  and  other  obsolete  matters.  It  was  this  Church 
Order,  with  the  reservations  or  changed  referred  to  above, 
that  was  adopted  when  the  Christian  Reformed  Church 
effected  its  separate  organization  in  1857,  as  related  in 
Chapter  II,  §7. 

The  character  or  essence  (wezen)  has  been  said  to  be 
that  of  a  collection  “of  general  rules  for  the  good  order 
of  church  life”, to  be  distinguished  from  ecclesiastical  reso- 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


239 


lutions  (decrees),  and  customs.  A  church  resolution  or 
decree  furnishes  the  application  of  a  general  principle  in  a 
given  case.  A  custom  is  a  usage  which  by  means  of  long 
observance  has  obtained  a  certain  stability  or  fixedness. 

The  authority  of  the  Church  Order  is  built  on  the 
command  regarding  subjection  to  office-bearers.  Like 
children  are  owing  obedience  to  their  parents,  Eph.  6: 
1-3;  Col.  3:  20;  and  subjects  to  magistrates,  Rom.  13:  1-7, 
so  the  Lord  demands  obedience  to  church  authorities,  as 
evident  from  Matt.  16:  19;  18:  18;  John  20:  21,  23;  Acts  15: 
27-29;  and  especially  Heb.  13:  7  and  17:  “Obey  them  that 
have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them;  for  they 
watch  in  behalf  of  your  souls,  as  they  that  shall  give 
account.” 

The  Church  Order’s  authority,  however,  while  it  has  an 
ecclesiastical  character,  is  not  conscience-binding  in  an 
absolute  sense.  The  Lord  alone  can  bind  the  conscience, 
James  4:  12:  “One  only,  is  the  Law-giver  and  Judge,  even 
He  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy.” 

Church  rules  are  of  a  regulating  character  and  bind  the 
conscience  only  in  so  far  as  they  are  taken  from  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  But  since  it  is  assumed  that  they  are  founded  on 
the  Word  of  God,  until  or  unless  the  contrary  is 
proved,  they  are  of  a  binding  character  on  ecclesiastical 
domain  and  obligate  the  members  and  office-bearers  of 
the  churches  to  observance.  (J.  Jansen,  Kerkenordening, 
1923,  p.  2).  Compare  for  the  above  Articles  1,  41,  and  86 
of  the  Church  Order  and  Articles  27 — 32  of  the  Confession. 

To  once  more  quote  from  Dr.  Bouwman’s  address  (In¬ 
troductory  paragraph  above)  :  A  Church  Order  is  to  regu¬ 
late  the  functioning  of  the  offices  of  the  Church,  by  Cal¬ 
vin  called  the  eye,  ear,  and  hand  through  which  the 
Church  manifests  itself;  it  should  contain  the  principles 
of  Church  government;  should  reveal  the  confessing 
nature  of  the  Church;  and  it  should  maintain  its  holy 


240 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


character  by  means  of  the  chief  rules  governing  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  Word,  the  Sacraments,  and  Discipline. 

§5.  OUTLINE  OF  THE  CHURCH  ORDER  OF  1914 

After  repeated  attempts  to  bring  the  Church  Order  of 
Dordrecht  closer  to  American  church  life,  a  revision  was 
adopted  by  the  Synod  of  1914.  It  adheres  closely  to  the 
original,  more  so  than  the  elaborate  proposal  laid  before 
the  Synod  of  1912,  which,  with  its  outline  as  reported  to 
the  1910  Synod  will,  we  presume,  some  day  be  appre¬ 
ciated  more  than  at  the  time  it  was  laid  before  our  people. 
Particularly  regarding  the  handling  of  cases  of  discipline, 
those  proposals  contained  valuable  directions.  Of  the 
1914  edition  of  the  Church  Order,  the  main  divisions 
are  four  in  number:  of  the  offices,  Articles  2 — 
28;  church  assemblies,  Articles  29 — 52;  of  Doctrines,  Sac¬ 
raments  and  other  Ceremonies,  Articles  53 — 70;  of  Cen¬ 
sure  and  Ecclesiastical  Admonition,  Articles  71  to  the  end. 
We  may  outline  this  as  follows: 

(1)  Under  “ offices ”  are  subsumed  articles  touching 
the  teaching  elders  or  ministers  (Articles  3 — 17),  and  the 
professors  or  “doctors”  of  the  Church  (Article  18),  stu¬ 
dents  for  the  ministry,  (Articles  19  and  20),  Christian 
Schools,  Article  21).  Matters  pertaining  to  the  ruling  el¬ 
ders  are  contained  in  Articles  22,  23,  and  27;  to  the  dea¬ 
cons,  Articles  24 — 26,  and  27,  while  the  relation  to  civil 
authorities  is  defined  in  Article  28. 

(2)  Under  “ Assemblies ”  are  found  general  regula¬ 
tions  (Articles  29 — 36),  consistorial  regulations  (Articles 
37 — 40),  rules  pertaining  to  the  Classis  (Articles  41 — 46), 
to  the  Particular  Synods  (Articles  47 — 49),  to  the  Synod 
(Article  50),  missionary  work  (Article  51),  and  linguistic 
rules  (Article  52). 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


241 


(3)  Under  “ Doctrines ,  Sacraments  and  Ceremonies” 
we  find  regulations  pertaining  to  doctrine  (Articles  53 — 
55),  Baptism  (Articles  56 — 60),  Communion  (Articles  61 — 
63),  and  other  matters  pertaining  to  divine  services  and 
matrimony  (Articles  65 — 70) . 

(4)  The  part  about  Censure  and  Admonition  covers 
rules  concerning  the  discipline  over  members  (Articles 
71 — 78),  office-bearers  (Articles  79 — 81),  letters  of  dis¬ 
missal  (Article  82),  the  poor  (Article  83),  the  parity  of 
churches  and  office-bearers  (Article  84),  and  about 
churches  differing  from  us  in  usage  (Article  85).  The 
closing  Article  86,  covers  the  authority  and  possible  revi¬ 
sion  of  the  Church  Order,  even  as  the  opening  Article 
spoke  of  its  purpose  and  outlined  its  contents. 

(For  the  text  of  the  Church  Order  and  annotations  we 
beg  to  refer  to  the  book  on  the  subject  published  in  1921, 
whose  authors  are  the  Revs.  W.  Stuart  and  G.  Hoeksema. 
Publishers,  The  Van  Noord  Book  &  Publishing  Co.,  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.) 

§6.  CHURCH  VISITATION  RULES 

This  institution  is  based  on  Article  44  of  the  Church 
Order  which  reads  as  follows: 

“The  Classis  shall  authorize  at  least  two  of  her  oldest, 
most  experienced  and  competent  Ministers  to  visit  all  the 
Churches  once  a  year  and  to  take  heed  whether  the  Minis¬ 
ter  and  the  Consistory  faithfully  perform  the  duties  of 
their  office,  adhere  to  sound  doctrine,  observe  in  all  things 
the  adopted  order,  and  properly  promote  as  much  as  lies 
in  them,  through  word  and  deed,  the  upbuilding  of  the 
congregation,  in  particular  of  the  youth,  to  the  end  that 
they  may  in  time  fraternally  admonish  those  who  have  in 
anything  been  negligent,  and  may  by  their  advice  and  as¬ 
sistance  help  direct  all  things  unto  the  peace,  upbuilding, 
and  greatest  profit  of  the  churches.  And  each  Classis  may 


242 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


continue  these  visitors  in  service  as  long  as  it  sees  fit,  ex¬ 
cept  where  the  visitors  themselves  request  to  be  released 
for  reasons  of  which  the  Glassis  shall  judge.” 

Church  visitation  is  an  old  ordinance  of  the  Christian 
Church.  It  was  regulated  as  early  as  347  by  the  Council 
of  Sardica  to  promote  the  good  order  in  the  congrega¬ 
tions.  From  the  very  beginning  of  regular  church  life 
among  the  Reformed  people  of  the  Netherlands,  it  has 
been  continued  to  the  present  day. 

The  Synod  of  1922  approved  of  the  following  RULES 
FOR  CHURCH  VISITATION. 

“The  Visitation  which,  according  to  Article  44  of  the 
Church  Order,  must  take  place  in  the  Churches,  in  order 
to  proceed  properly,  calls  for  the  observance  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  particulars : 

(1)  Every  Classis  appoints  from  its  midst  at  least  two 
ministers  as  visitors,  and  an  equal  number  of 
alternates. 

(2)  At  least  one  week  prior  to  their  coming  the  vis¬ 
itors  notify  the  Consistory  of  the  day  and  the  hour 
of  their  visit. 

(3)  On  the  intervening  Sunday  the  approaching  visi¬ 
tation  is  publicly  announced  to  the  congregation. 

(4)  All  members  of  the  Consistory  give  diligence  to  be 
present  at  the  meeting  arranged  for  the  visitation. 
Every  member  who  remains  absent  is  to  acquaint 
the  meeting  with  the  reasons  for  his  absence.  If 
one-half  of  the  members  are  absent,  the  visitation 
cannot  take  place. 

(5)  The  Consistory  sees  to  it  that  all  the  books  of  the 
Church  are  brought  to  the  meeting  for  inspection 
by  the  visitors. 

(6)  At  the  meeting  one  of  the  visitors  functions  as 
president,  and  the  other  as  clerk.  The  visitors  re¬ 
cord  their  findings  and  doings  in  a  book  for  refer- 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


243 


ence  at  future  visitations,  to  be  retained  in  the 
archives  of  Classis. 

(7)  If  abnormal  conditions  in  a  church  make  it  desir¬ 
able,  the  visitors  shall  repeat  their  call  as  soon  and 
as  often  as  necessary. 

(8)  After  all  the  churches  have  been  visited,  the  vis¬ 
itors  shall,  with  all  necessary  discretion,  prepare  a 
report  of  their  findings  and  doings,  and  present  the 
same  to  the  next  Classis. 


GUIDE  FOR  THE  EXAMINATION 


Questions  to  the  Full  Consistory 

(1)  Do  you  have  preaching  services  at  least  twice  on 
each  Lord’s  Day,  once  from  a  text  the  choice  of 
which  is  left  free,  and  once  after  the  order  of  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  so  that  no  Lord’s  Day  is 
omitted? 

(2)  Does  the  Consistory  determine  what  shall  be  read 
at  reading  services? 

(3)  Is  the  Lord’s  Supper  celebrated  at  least  four  times 
a  year,  and  is  it  preceded  by  a  preparatory  sermon 
and  followed  by  an  applicatory  sermon? 

(4)  Does  the  Consistory  see  to  the  regular  holding  of 
catechetical  classes,  and  to  their  faithful  atten¬ 
dance? 

(5)  Are  the  members  of  the  Consistory  elected  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  Articles  22  and  24  of  our  Church 
Order? 

(6)  Are  the  Forms  of  Unity  signed  by  all  the  members 
of  the  Consistory,  minister,  elders,  and  deacons? 

(7)  Does  the  Consistory  meet  at  stated  times  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  needs  of  the  church? 

(8)  Are  all  matters  calling  for  the  attention  of  the 
Consistory  dealt  with  according  to  our  Church 


244 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Order,  and  are  the  acts  of  the  Consistory  properly 
recorded  and  kept? 

(9)  Do  the  members  of  the  Consistory,  before  each 
celebration  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  exercise  Chris¬ 
tian  censure  among  themselves? 

(10)  Is  Church  Discipline  administered  faithfully  in 
accordance  with  the  Word  of  God  and  the  Church 
Order? 

(11)  Is  the  Consistory  aware  of  the  presence  in  the 
congregation  of  members  of  secret  societies,  and 
if  there  are  such,  are  they  dealt  with  according  to 
Church  Discipline? 

(12)  Do  the  members  of  the  Consistory,  as  their  office 
demands,  regularly  visit  the  families,  the  sick,  and 
the  poor? 

(13)  What  is  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  Church?  Do 
unity,  peace,  and  love  prevail? 

(14)  Do  the  youth  of  the  Church,  coming  to  years  of 
discretion,  seek  admission  to  the  Lord’s  Table? 

(15)  Is  the  Church  to  the  extent  of  its  ability  diligent 
towards  the  extension  of  God’s  Kingdom? 

(16)  Are  the  collections,  prescribed  by  Classis  and  Sy¬ 
nod,  taken  according  to  the  respective  regulations? 

(17)  Are  all  the  funds  and  legal  papers,  both  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  poor,  kept  in  a  safe  place,  in 
such  a  way  that  there  can  arise  no  occasion  for 
distrust,  and  that  a  change  in  office,  through  death 
or  otherwise,  can  occasion  no  difficulties;  and  is 
the  Church  properly  incorporated?  Are  the  ar¬ 
chives  in  good  order? 

(18)  Do  the  parents  as  far  as  possible  send  their  chil¬ 
dren  to  Christian  Schools? 

Questions  to  the  Elders  and  Deacons  in  the  Absence  of 

the  Minister  or  Ministers 

(1)  Does  the  Minister  faithfully  exercise  his  office  in 
preaching  and  administering  the  Sacraments,  in 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  AND  CHURCH  ORDER 


245 


adherence  to  God’s  Word,  the  Forms  of  Unity,  and 
the  Church  Order? 

(2)  Does  he  in  the  discharge  of  his  ministry  use  the 
Forms  of  the  Church,  and  does  he  conduct  public 
worship  in  an  edifying  manner? 

(3)  Does  he  catechize  regularly,  is  he  faithful  in  visit¬ 
ing  the  sick,  and  does  he  take  part  in  the  visitation 
of  the  families? 

(4)  How  does  he  manifest  himself  in  his  domestic  and 
public  life? 

(5)  Does  his  work  as  a  teacher  and  preacher  give  evi¬ 
dence  of  diligent  study,  particularly  his  preaching 
of  the  Catechism? 

(6)  Does  he  devote  himself  as  exclusively  as  possible 
to  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties? 

(7)  Does  he  receive  a  sufficient  income  proportionate 
to  the  needs  of  a  well-ordered  family? 


Questions  to  the  Minister  or  Ministers  in  the  Absence 

of  the  Elders 

(1)  Are  the  Elders  regular  in  their  attendance  at  the 
meetings  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Consistory? 

(2)  Do  they  from  time  to  time  visit  the  catechetical 
classes  for  the  purpose  of  observing  how  they  are 
conducted  and  attended,  and  do  they  upon  request 
assist  the  Minister  in  catechizing? 

(3)  Are  they  doing  their  part  in  administering  Chris¬ 
tian  discipline  and  in  maintaining  decency  and 
order  in  all  matters? 

(4)  Do  they,  according  to  their  ability,  visit,  comfort, 
and  instruct  the  members  of  the  Church,  and  do 
they  try  to  prevent  or  remove  all  offense? 

(5)  Do  they,  both  at  home  and  in  public,  lead  a  life 
exemplary  for  the  congregation? 


246 


THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH 


Questions  to  the  Minister  or  Ministers  and  Elders  in 

the  Absence  of  the  Deacons 

(1)  Are  the  Deacons  regular  in  their  attendance  at  the 
meetings  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Consistory,  and 
also,  if  such  are  held,  of  the  Deacons? 

(2)  Are  they  diligent  in  collecting  alms,  and  do  they 
faithfully  discharge  their  duties  in  caring  for  the 
poor  and  the  distressed,  and  in  comforting  them? 

(3)  Are  the  collections  counted  in  the  presence  of  the 
Minister  or  of  one  or  more  of  the  Elders? 

(4)  Do  they  wisely  administer  the  funds  in  consulta¬ 
tion  with  the  Minister  and  Elders;  do  they  keep  a 
double  record  of  receipts  and  disbursements,  and 
do  they  at  stated  times  render  an  account  thereof? 

(5)  Do  they  in  their  life  at  home  and  in  public  mani¬ 
fest  themselves  as  exemplary  Christians? 

TEST  QUESTIONS 

1.  Why  is  Church  government  and  a  Church  Order  a  necessity? 

2.  Which  are  the  three  main  system  of  church  government  out¬ 
side  of  the  Presbyterian  or  Reformed? 

3.  Give  the  leading  principles  of  the  Presbyterian  System? 

4.  Which  are  the  Church  Judicatories  according  to  the  Pres¬ 
byterian  Order. 

5.  What  can  you  say  about  the  History  of  our  Church  Order? 

6.  What  do  we  hold  about  the  character  and  authority  of  the 
Rules  and  Regulations  of  the  Church  Order? 

7.  What  is  embraced  under  Part  I  of  the  Church  Order? 

8.  What  matters  are  covered  under  Parts  II,  III,  and  IV? 

9.  What  is  meant  by  Church  Visitation? 

10.  Which  do  you  think  are  the  five  most  important  questions  of 
the  Rules  for  Church  Visitation? 

REFERENCES 

Rev.  M.  J.  Bosma,  “Exposition  of  Reformed  Doctrine”,  Chap.  VI. 

Dr.  H.  Beets,  “Compendium  Explained”,  Chapter  XVI. 

Dr.  S.  L.  Morris,  “Presbyterianism”,  Chapter  IV. 

Revs.  W.  Stuart  and  G.  Hoeksema,  “Church  Order”. 


APPENDIX  I 

Grandrapids  29  April  1857 

Aan  de  Eerwaarde  Synodale  vergadering  der  Christelijke  afgeschei- 
denen  in  Nederland! 

Eerwaarde  en  geliefde  Broeders!  in  ons  verheerlijkt  hoofd  en 
Eeuwige  Koning  Jezus  Christus!  hij  die  is,  was,  en  zijn  zal,  de  ge- 
trouwe  Imanuel  en  heerschappij  voerende  over  Zijne  Kerk  zij  met 
Zijne  godheid,  Majesteit,  genade  en  Geest,  in  het  midden  der  verga¬ 
dering  en  geve  in  liefde  maar  ook  in  opregtheid  en  getrouwheid  te 
handelen  in  alle  voorkomende  zaken,  en  legge  veel  van  zijne  hoogheid 
op  aller  harten  opdat  men  niet  vermag  af  te  wijken  ter  regter  of 
linkerzijde  van  wege  dezelve. 

Onze  innige  verkleefd  en  gebondheid  aan  Christus  Kerk  op  aarde 
waar  dezelve  zig  ook  mogt  openbaren,  gevoelende,  zoo  gevoelen  wij 
met  een  het  pijnlijke  van  het  rekken  van  dien  band,  waarmede  wij 
gebonden  zijn  aan  UEW.  die  als  vertegenwoordigers  dier  Kerk  ver- 
gadert  zijt.  De  uitgeleide  gemeente,  afgescheiden  van  alle  protes- 
tantsche  genootschappen,  hebben  wij  bij  Godlijk  ligt  leren  kennen, 
als  de  Bruid  en  het  wijf  des  Lams,  en  het  was  door  genade  dat  wij  op 
eene  dag  van ’s  Heeren  Heirkragt,  onze  halse  bij  vernieuwing  mogten 
buigen  onder  dat  zagte  en  zalige  juk  van  Jezus  Christus,  om  onder 
verdrukking  en  vervolging  (waarvan  ook  wij  ons  deel  in  Nederland 
genoten)  het  Lam  te  volgen  door  bezaaide  en  onbezaaide  landen:  Ge¬ 
liefde  Broeders!  dat  standpunt,  afgescheiden  van  alle  protestant- 
sche  genootschappen  is,  hoewel  verre  van  Nederland  verwijdert,  nog 
hetzelfde  bij  ons:  het  is  waar  dat  wij  voor  een  tijd  dit  standpunt  hier 
in  America  hadden  verlaten  dog  dit  was  slegts  door  misleiding:  Wij, 
onbekend  met  alles,  werden  onderrigt,  dat  de  zich  noemende  Dutch 
Reformed  Churs,  in  leer  en  regeering  volkomen  was  overeenstem- 
mende  met  de  Gereformeerde  Kerk  zooals  dezelve  vroeger  in  Nederl. 
bestond,  dus  ook  met  de  af gescheidene :  ter  goeder  trouw  hebben  wij 
ons  daarop  aan  dat  genootschap  aangesloten.  Dog  nu  het  ons  open- 
baard  werd,  dat  dit  genootschap  in  sommige  zaken,  nog  Liberaalder 
was  dan  de  Hervormde  Kerk  in  Nederl.  en  dat  vele,  ja  overstromende 
fondamenteele  dwalingen  wTaren  heerschende  en  de  weg  van  protes- 
teren  voor  ons  werd  gesloten,  hebben  wij  na  rij  beraad,  onze  verbin- 
tenis  aan  dat  kerkgenootschap  moeten  opzeggen,  en  vinden  ons  voor 
den  Heere  verpligt,  tot  ons  vorig  standpunt  terug  te  keren,  en  zoo 
wenschen  wij  weder  een  deel  te  zijn  van  de  door  den  Heere  uitgeleide 
gereformeerde  Kerk. 

Die  ons  vroeger  gekend  hebben  weten  hoe  wars  wij  waren  van  af- 
scheiding  van  de  Kerk,  en  hoe  wij  niet  anders  dan  Gods  ongenoegen 
voorspelden  op  het  vermenigvuldigen  van  gemeententjes  naast  de 
Kerk.  Hier  in  zijn  wij  nog  dezelfden;  die  vrijzinnige  begrippen  wor- 
den  door  ons  verfoeid,  den  Bijbel  en  onze  daarop  gegronde  formulie- 
ren  van  Eenheid  leren  ons  anders.  Wij  zeggen  met  Vader  Brakel, 
men  moet  zig  bij  de  Kerk  voegen,  en  bij  dezelve  blijven.  Dog  wan- 


248 


APPENDIX 


neer  er  overstromen  fondamentele  dwalingen  komen,  dan  houd  die 
vergadering  op  de  Kerk  te  zijn,  alle  gelovigen  zijn  verpligt  zij  afte- 
scheiden,  en  God  trekt  de  zijnen  als  dan  ook  zelve  daaruit:  Nu  is 
de  groote  vraag.  Zijn  er  overstromende  fondamentele  dwalingen  uit 
de  Boeken  der  zig  noemende  Dutch  Ref.  Churs  voortkomende?  De 
agt  nagttekenen  voortkomende  in  de  Wagterstem,  zullen  daaromtrent 
wel  eenig  antwoord  geven.  Ook  eene  Samenspraak  gezonden  aan  den 
Weleerwaarde  Ds.  J offers,  ja  al  was  het  niet  anders  dan  de  doordrij- 
ving  eener  algemeene  verzoening,  waren  er  dan  al  niet  fondamentele 
dwalingen?  Want  welk  fondamenteel  leerstuk  kan  men  staande  hou- 
den,  de  algemeene  verzoening  lerende?  en  wij  zijn  in  staat  te  bewij- 
zen  dat  studenten  op  de  Semenarium  dit  leerstuk  zonder  tegenspraak 
der  onderwijzers  verdedigen,  en  de  Synode  verspreiding  van  boeken 
met  dit  leerstuk,  bevorderen.  Meer  zullen  hier  nu  niet  van  schrijven, 
zijnde  reeds  vroeger  door  ons  gedaan,  welke  brief:  door  Curatoren  der 
Theologische  School  te  Kampen  is  gelezen,  welke  van  een  en  ander 
wel  mededeeling  zullen  willen  doen. — 

Broeders !  geene  scheuring,  maar  vereeniging  is  dat  geen  wat  onze 
wensch  en  Bede  uitmaakt.  Daarom  is  het  dat  wij  ons  met  deeze  tot 
UEw.  wenden,  met  vriendelijk  verzoek  ons  te  erkennen,  als  een  deel 
der  afgescheidenene  Gereformeerde  Kerk  in  Nederland  en  ons  in 
voorkomende  gevallen  zoovel  mogelijk  met  raad  en  hulp  bijstaan:  de 
afscheiding  neemt  hier  toe.  De  Heere  opent  meer  en  meer  de  ogen 
zijns  volks,  het  merendeel  der  gemeente  hier  te  Grandrapids  [is] 
met  Ds.  H.  G.  Klijn  afgescheiden.  Ds.  K.  van  den  Bosch  met  bijna 
zijne  geheele  gemeente,  te  uitgezondert  zes  of  zeven  huisgezinnen. 
Alle  te  Polkton  alle  te  Vriesland,  Zeeland  enz.  neemt  dezelve  meer  en 
meer  toe :  het  is  eene  zaak  welke  alom  weerklarik  vind  in  het  hart  van 
Gods  volk.  Dringend  is  dan  ook  aller  verzoek,  vereeniging  met  de 
kinderen  van  een  zelfde  Moeder. 

Wij  kunnen  niet  verwagten  van  UEw.  eene  koele  afzetting  met 
het  ben  ik  mijns  broeders  hoeder?  integendeel  hopen  en  geloven  wij 
dat  daar  een  en  dezelfde  band  ons  bind,  gij  ons  met  opene  armen 
ontvangt,  en  het  begeerde  ons  zult  bewijzen. — 

Eene  andere  begeerte  mogen  en  kunnen  wij  ons  niet  verzwij- 
gen,  en  die  is,  (het  is  de  bede  van  den  Groten  Hoogepriester,  dat  zij 
alien  een  zouden  zijn,  gelijk  hij  met  den  Vader  64n  was.  en  daar  er 
nog  veele  van  Godskinderen  tegen  ons  overstaan,  om  welke  redenen 
dan  ook)  dat  UEw.  pogingen  mogte  aanwenden,  om  scheuring,  welke 
door  de  Scheiding  tusschen  ons  Hollandsche  volk  is  ontstaan,  onder 
’s  Heeren  genadigen  zegen  te  helpen  heelen,  hoe  onmooglijk  dit  aan 
ons  oog  mooge  schijnen,  de  Heere  welke  door  middelen  wil  werken 
konde  het  met  zijnen  zegen  besproeien,  ons  te  samen  eenen  weg  doen- 
de  bewandelen. — 

het  moet  gewis  verwondering  baren  bij  UEw.  dat  wij  opname  en 
vereeniging  verzoeken  bij  UEw.  die  zijn  afgescheiden  van  een  kerk- 
genootschap  hetwelk  mooglijk  ook  tot  UEw.  komt,  hunne  vereeniging 
te  kennen  gevende,  en  ook  nog  wel  ondersteuning  schenkende:  Dog 
die  verwondering  zal  spoedig  ophouden,  indien  slegts  op  de  beginse- 


APPENDIX 


249 


len  gezien  word.  Wij  gaan  uit  van  het  Gereformeerd  beginsel  dat 
een  Kerk  kenbaar  word  uit  zijne  kenmerken,  en  dat  die  Kerk  meer 
een  is,  en  de  Heere  aldaar  en  ook  aldaar  alleen,  den  zegen  belooft, 
en  het  leven  tot  in  Eeuwigheid,  en  die  kenmerken  bij  de  afgeschei- 
dene  in  Nederland  vindende,  zoo  mogen  wij  niet  terug  blijven,  maar 
komen,  met  verwerping  van  alle  andere  genootschappen. — 

Daar  de  andere  uit  dat  Liberale  beginsel  werken:  overal  is  de 
Kerk,  en  slegts  Nederlandsch  afgescheidene  zoeken,  gelijk  zij  zoe- 
ken  de  vereeniging  met  Baptist,  Methodist,  Episcopal,  en  andere  dwa- 
lende  sexte :  onder  de  schone  naam  van  Evangelische  Eenheid.  Dog 
is  niets  anders  dan  Evangelie  verdringende  verbroedering. 

Aangenaam  zal  het  ons  zijn  een  gunstig  antwoord  van  UEw.  te 
ontvangen,  waarmede  wij  zijn,  naa  toebidding  van  ’s  Heeren  dier- 
baarste  zegen. 

UEw.  Liefhebbende  Breeders  in  Christus 

H.  G.  Klyn  presis. 

K.  van  de  Bosch  Sriba. 


APPENDIX  II 

De  “Acht  Nachtteekenen”  bovengenoemd,  in  “De  Wachterstem”, 
15  Jan.,  1857,  noemen  het  invoeren  van  800  gezangen,  waardoor  de 
Psalmen  worden  verdrongen,  het  ophouden  van  catechismus  predi¬ 
king,  catechisatie  en  huisbezoek,  het  prediken  eener  algemeene  ver- 
zoening,  het  uitnoodigen  tot  het  Avondmaal  van  alle  gezindheden,  de 
Roomschen  alleen  uitgesloten,  het  uitgeven  van  allerlei  boeken  met 
andere  kerkengroepen,  het  openen  van  den  predikstoel  voor  predikan- 
ten  van  allerlei  gezindheden,  het  tegenspreken  der  Afscheiding,  het 
afraden  om  de  kinderen  verschilpunten  met  andere  genootschappen 
in  te  prenten  en  het  verwerpen  van  de  leer  der  Verkiezing  als  te  cal- 
vinistisch. 

Waar  negen  “Nachtteekenen”  worden  genoemd,  berust  het  noe¬ 
men  van  “Agt”  zeker  op  onnauwkeurige  memorie. 


H.  B. 


INDEX 


Alliance  Reformed  Societies,  88 
Amand,  11 
Apostles’  Creed,  202 
American  Federation  of  La¬ 
bor,  115 

Americanization  Movement,  83 
Ammermann,  80 
Argentine  Churches,  161 
Anabaptists,  15,  125 
Arminianism,  46,  113 
Arminius,  J.,  18,  192 
Athanasius,  185 

Baay,  Rev.  G.,  28 

Banner,  The,  98,  133 

Baptism  Membership  Question,  112 

Barendregt,  H.,  27 

Baron,  S.,  64 

Bavinck,  Dr.  H.,  52,  92,  107 
Baxter’s  “Call”,  47 
Beets,  H.,  55,  98,  176,  178,  198, 
212 

Beets  and  Bosma  Catechisms,  99, 
219 

Beld,  J.  H.,  159 

Belgic  Confession,  16,  109,  190  ff 

Bennink,  B.  J.,  141,  142,  220 

“Berean  Reformed”,  117 

Berdan,  J.,  81 

Berkhof,  L.,  35 

Beuker,  H.,  130,  198 

Bode,  C.,  75,  80 

Bode,  H.,  75,  80,  148 

Bode,  W.,  137 

Boer,  G.  E.,  64,  83,  127,  135 

Bolks,  S.,  42 

Bolt,  J.,  157 

Boniface,  12 

Bosch,  H.,  77,  86 

Bos,  E.,  75,  153,  176 

Bosma,  M.,  99,  219 

Bouma,  M.,  155,  160 

Bourgeois;  211 

Bouwman,  Dr.  H.,  44,  55,  233,  239 
Brakel  W.  a,  17,  23,  54,  65 


Breen,  E.,  102,  120,  148,  150 
Brethren  of  Common  Life,  13 
Brink,  J.  W.,  149,  155 
Brink,  J.  R.,  150 
Brink,  L.  P.,  155 
Brink,  W.,  77 
Broene,  E.,  75 
Broene,  G.,  75,  147 
“Brochure”,  68 
“Brothertown”,  35 
Brugman,  John,  13 
Brummelkamp,  A.,  20,  26,  30  If 
Bultema,  H.,  116 

Calvin  College,  131  ff 
“Calvin  College  Chimes”,  99 
Calvin  College  President,  133 
Calvinism,  89,  204 
“Calvinist,  The”,  94 
Calvin,  J.,  14,  191 
Calvin’s  “Institutes”,  14,  19 
Calvin  Student  Volunteer  Band, 
181 

“Calvin  University”,  133 
Canons  of  Dordrecht,  192  ff 
Cards  (Playing),  228 
Catechetical  Instruction,  99,  216 
Census  Property  Reports,  101 
Chicago  Christian  High  School, 

137 

Chicago  Jewish  Mission,  159 
China  Mission,  163  ff 
Chr.  Ref.  “Sunday  School  Les¬ 
son  Helps”,  86 

“Christian  School  Magazine”,  143 
Christian  School  Movement,  69 
Christian  School  Societies,  141 
Church  Government — Why?,  232 
Church  History  the  Why  of,  9 
Church  Judicatories,  236 
“Christelijke  Gereformeerde 
Kerk”,  51 

Churches  Under  the  Cross,  22,  29 
Church  Help,  102 
Church  Order,  16,  238 


252 


INDEX 


Church  Order  of  1914,  240 
Church  Visitation  Rules,  241 
Classes  of  Church,  73,  96 
Classical  Home  Mission  Commit¬ 
tees,  150 
Cocceius,  J.,  17 
Coelingh,  W.,  64 
College,  Society  for,  88 
Collegialism,  234,  235 
Colorado  Colony,  148 
Common  Grace,  93 
Comrie,  A.,  18 

Covenant  Idea  in  Theology,  18 
Covenant  of  Grace,  89 
Creed,  Why  a?,  183 
Crown  Point,  157 

Dagobert  I,  11 
Dam,  H.  W.,  48,  65 
Dancing,  229 

Dathenus,  Peter,  16,  190  ff,  211 
De  Baun,  J.  Y.,  81,  98 
De  Boer,  J.,  77 
De  Bray,  Guy,  16,  190,  191 
De  Cock,  H.,  19,  24,  62 
De  Groot,  W.,  161 
De  Jong,  G.  D.,  198 
De  Jong,  H.,  28 
De  Jong,  P.,  28,  139 
Dekker,  H.,  160 
De  Korne,  J.  C.,  165  ff 
De  Ronde’s  Translation,  Cate¬ 
chism,  190 
De  Witt,  Th.,  39 
Director  of  Missions,  177 
Doleantie,  49 
Dolfin,  J.,  114,  176 
Dordrecht,  Synod  of,  16,  18,  191 
Dosker,  H.  E.,  122,  205 
Duiker,  R.,  127 
Duin,  R.  W.,  20 
Duplex  Envelope  System,  179 
Dykstra,  H.  A.,  165  ff 

Educational  Secretary,  Calvin  Col¬ 
lege,  134 
Eligius,  11 
Ellens,  E.  J.,  161 
Emeritus  Fund,  102 
Emigration  Societies,  26 
“Every  Member  Canvass”,  179 
Ex  Bonis  Publicis,  126 


Federal  Council,  104 
Federation  Young  Men’s  Socie¬ 
ties,  100 

Fles,  I.  J.,  89,  116,  158 

Foreign  Missions  Conference,  105 

Foreign  Mission  Work,  87 

Forms  of  Liturgy,  196 

Fort  Defiance,  154 

Francken,  A.,  17,  127 

Frederick  the  Pious,  188 

Free  Masonry,  47,  52,  70,  77,  113 

Free  University,  97 

Frieling,  W.  H.,  64 

Froeligh,  Dr.  S.,  81 

Fryling,  H.,  154 

Gansfort,  Wessel,  13 
Garvelink,  J.  W.,  77,  153,  176 
“Gedenkboek”,  44,  55 
Gelock,  J.,  48,  67,  153,  176 
“Geref ormeerde  Amerikaan”  (De) , 
85,  111,  130 
Gezon,  J.,  141 

Grand  Rapids  Christian  High 
School,  138 

Groen,  J.,  65,  120,  176,  212 
Groen,  W.,  94 
Grundy  College,  137 
“Grundy  College  Messenger”,  99 
Gulker,  J.,  80 

Haan,  E.  R.,  77 
Haan,  G,  46,  48  ff 
Hackensack’s  Defection,  113 
Half-Way  Covenant,  112,  119 
“Handbook”,  45 
Heeringa,  J.  J.,  77 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  16,  187 
Heidenwereld  (De),  85,  99,  100 
Hekman,  E.,  77 
Heldrink,  O.  G.,  25 
Hellenbroek,  A.,  17 
Hellenthal,  W.,  127 
Hemkes,  G.  K.,  64,  83,  84,  129, 
135,  198 

Hepp,  Dr.  V.,  52 

“Heraut”,  De,  106 

Heyns,  W.,  89,  135,  158,  198, 

218 

Hiemenga,  J.  J.,  133,  165 
Hoefker,  G.  L.,  81 
Hoekenga,  P.  J.,  161,  165 


INDEX 


253 


Hoeksema,  G.,  241 
Hoekstra,  J.  B.,  141 
Holland  Christian  High  School, 

138 

Holland  Immigration  Bureau,  160 

Holtman,  P.  R.,  141 

Home  Missions  Council,  105 

Home  Mission  Work,  146 

Honig,  Prof.  A.  G.,  55 

Hopkinsianism,  46 

Huizenga,  L.  S.,  155,  164  ff 

Hulst,  F.,  64 

Hulst,  L.  J.,  75,  78,  83 

Hus,  John,  13 

Hymns,  47,  52,  82 

Hymns,  German,  92 

Infra-lapsarism,  90,  105 
Immens,  P.,  18 

Immigrants’  and  Sailors’  Home, 
159 

Independentism,  234  ff 
Indian  Mission  Work,  252  if 
“Instructor”  for  S.  S.,  99 

“Jaarboekje”,  84 
Jacobsma,  H.,  141 
Janssen,  R.,  93,  135 
Jewish  Missions,  158 
Jongbloed,  T.,  160 
Jorissen,  M.,  211 
Jukao,  Ku.,  China,  168  ff 

Keizer,  A.,  84 
Kempis,  Thomas  a,  13 
Keppel,  T.,  46,  77 
Klyn,  H.  G.,  35,  48,  62,  66 
Kloppenburg,  C.,  88 
“Knights  of  Labor”,  115 
Kniphuizen,  F.,  77 
Koelman,  J.,  18 
Krabshuis,  A.,  45,  48,  65 
Kromminga,  D.  H.,  137 
Kuiper,  B.  K.,  121,  138 
Kuiper,  H.  J.,  221 
Kuiper,  K.,  76,  141 
Kuiper,  R.  T.,  74,  83  ff,  147,  153, 
176 

Kuyper,  Dr.  A.,  49,  54,  92,  105, 
204,  210 


Labadie,  J.  de,  18 
Labadism,  18,  90,  114 
Labor  Union  Problem,  114 
LaGrave  Ave.  Church,  84 
Lampe,  F.  A.,  18 
“Landmarks”,  22,  50,  122 
Langereis,  H.  H.  D.,  77 
Lasco,  J.  a,  108 
Libraries  of  Seminaries,  135 
Liturgical  Improvements,  199 
Liturgy,  The,  194  ff 
Lodenstein,  J.  Van,  15,  18,  23 
Los  Angeles  Society  for  Christian 
Instruction,  143 
Lukas,  S.,  152 
Luther,  13 

Manni,  J.,  102,  150 
“Maranatha”  Case,  116 
Marck,  Joh.  a,  17 
Marcusse,  M.  J.,  148 
Mastricht,  P.  Van,  17 
“Mayflower”,  30,  33 
Meinders,  E.  L.,  64,  80,  88,  147 
Mennonites,  16 
Menno  Simons,  16 
Michigan  Sunday  School  Con¬ 
vention,  94 
Mission  Board,  176 
Missionary  Societies,  179 
Missions,  The  Why  of,  145 
Missionary  Training  School,  138 
“Mitarbeider”,  113 
Mokma,  G.  W.,  77 
Mormon  Mission,  161 
Muntingh,  J.,  139 
Mysticism,  90 

National  Union  Christian  Schools, 
142 

“Neo-Calvinism”,  111 
Netherland  Confession  of  Faith, 
190  (See  also  Belgic  Confes¬ 
sion) 

New  Brunswick  Seminary,  40 
New  England  Primer,  217,  224 
Noordewier,  J.,  65,  84,  98,  126, 
130,  148,  152 

Normal  Course,  “Calvin”,  133 
Normal  School,  138,  140 


254 


INDEX 


Odd  Fellows,  228 
Offerings,  Financial  and  Per¬ 
sonal,  100 

Old  Reformed  Churches,  21,  87 
Olevianus,  C.,  16,  188 
“Onze  Toekomst”,  109 
Orr’s  “Progress  of  Dogma”,  94, 
109 

Overkamp,  I.,  139 

Paterson  Christian  High  School, 
138 

Paterson  Hebrew  Mission,  159 
Pella  Colony,  27,  34,  139 1 
Pentecostal  Collection  for  Mis¬ 
sions,  152 

Period  of  Dutch  Church  His¬ 
tory,  17 

Pietists,  Dutch,  23 
Pilgrims  and  Puritans,  23 
“Pilgrims  of  the  West”,  38 
Plesscher,  J.,  80 

Pluriformity  of  Church,  54,  203 
Postma,  D.,  152 
Postma,  R.,  100 
Postma,  S.  S.,  77,  158 
Plymouth  Brethren,  232 
Preaching  on  Catechism,  212 
Pre-millennialism,  116 
Presbyterian  System  of  Church 
Government,  234 
Princeton  Seminary,  97 
Psalter  in  Worship,  208 
Puritan  Movement,  23 

Quakers,  232 

Rabbers,  J.,  35 
Reformed  Church  of  South 
Africa,  103,  152 
Reformation  Forerunners,  13 
Reformation  Principles,  14 
“Reformierte  Bote”,  81 
“Reformierte  Monatschrift”,  81 
Rehoboth,  N.  M.,  155 
“Religion  and  Culture”,  94 
Remonstrance,  192 
Rietdyk,  L.,  65,  74 
Robinson,  J.,  57,  69,  106 
Rooks,  A.  J.,  130 
Roosevelt,  T.,  150 
Rottenberg,  J.,  159 
Rules  for  Church  Visitation,  242 


Rullman,  J.  C.,  107 
Rus,  A.  J.,  16 
Rutgers,  F.  L.,  109 

“Sabbath  School  Bode”,  76.  99 
“Sarah  Sand”,  27 
Savonarola,  13 

Secession,  Netherlands,  19,  20,  21 

Schepers,  J.,  64,  126 

Schepers,  J.  R.,  64 

Schoemaker,  H.  H.,  20 

Scholte,  H.  P.,  20,  22,  26  ff 

Schoolland,  K.,  130 

Schultz,  H.  H.,  159 

Schultz,  J.  H.,  80,  81 

Schut,  P.,  83 

Secret  Societies,  225 

Seminary,  The,  134 

Silvius,  N.,  77,  86 

Smit,  R.  H.,  48 

Smitter,  J.,  149 

Sonneveldt,  A.  C.,  162,  163 

“Southerner”,  27 

Sprik,  B.,  155 

“Statenbijbel”,  57 

“Stem  eens  Belasterden”,  68 

Stuart,  F.,  149 

Stuart,  W.,  149,  241 

Student  Fund,  126 

Student  Volunteer  Movement,  180 

Sundag,  J.  B.,  20 

Sunday  School,  85,  179 

Supra-lapsarism,  90,  105 

Systems  Church  Government,  233 

Tanis,  J.,  86 

Tauler,  13 
Teelincks,  18 

Ten  Hoor,  F.  M.,  85,  121,  135 
Theatres,  229 
Theological  Schools,  125 
Theol.  School,  Williams  St.,  128 
Timmermann,  Jv  81,  137 
Tithing,  179 

Toadlena,  New  Mexico,  155 
Tohatchi,  New  Mexico,  155 
Training  School,  Indian,  157 
Transvaal,  152 

True  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 

46,  87 

Tuuk,  E.  J.,  138 


INDEX 


255 


Unions  (Trade),  114  ff 
Ursinus,  Z.,  16,  187 
Utrecht  Conclusions,  108 
Van  Bree,  A.,  77 
Van  Dellen,  I.,  161 
Vanden  Bosch,  K.,  48,  128,  146 
Vanden  Bosch,  T.  M.,  141,  147, 
153,  176 

Vanden  Broek,  T.  J.,  29 
Vander  Beek,  M.,  155 
Vander  Mey,  J.,  134 
Vander  Wagen,  A.,  154 
Vander  Werp,  D.  J.,  63,  127, 
128,  146 

Vander  Werp,  H.,  75,  76,  212 
Vande  Water,  J.,  138,  161 
Van  Goor,  K.,  77 
Van  Hoogen,  H.,  76 
Van  Houten,  J.  F.,  114 
Van  Leeuwen,  H.  W.,  63,  69,  126 
Van  Lonkhuyzen,  J.,  109,  162 
Van  Raalte,  A.  C.,  20,  26,  27  ff, 
139 

Van  Velzen,  S.,  20,  46,  62,  66,  89 
Van  Vessem,  M.,  148,  176 
Van  Vlaanderen,  P.,  77 
Van  Vliet,  P.  D.,  138 
Veltkamp,  J.,  86,  141 


Voetius,  G.,  17 
Volbeda,  S.,  8,  135 
Vollmer’s  “Sociology”,  94 
Vorst,  C.,  65,  67,  146 
Vos,  G.,  90,  92,  106,  129 
Vos,  J.  H.,  74,  83 

“Wachter”  (De),  67,  75,  128 
Walkotten,  H.,  176 
Warfield,  B.  B.,  205 
Western  Academy,  137 
Westervelt,  J.  A.,  114,  149 
Wilfred,  Bishop,  11 
Willibrord,  12 
“Witness”,  The,  94,  99 
Wycliff,  13 
Wyckof,  I.  N.,  40  ff 

“Yearbook”,  68,  98 
Yearbooks  Theological  School,  132 
“Young  Calvinist”,  The,  100 
Young  People’s  Societies,  86 

“Zamenspraak”,  68 
Zonne,  Rev.  P.,  28 
Zwemer,  A.,  78 
Zwier,  D.,  149 
Zuni  Pueblo,  154 
Zwingli,  13 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  Page 

I  The  People  and  the  Church  of  our  Fathers 

Across  the  Sea .  9 

II  The  Church  of  our  Pioneers,  Organized, United, 

and  Disunited .  33 

III  The  Christian  Reformed  Church  During  its 

Period  of  Struggling  Early  Life,  1857 — 

1880  .  57 

IV  The  Christian  Reformed  Church  During  its 

Adolescent  Period  of  Growth,  1880 — 1900....  72 

V  The  Christian  Reformed  Church  During  its 
Period  of  Early  Manhood’s  Vigor  and 
Strife,  1900—1920  .  93 

VI  Institutions  of  Learning:  The  Theological 
School  and  Kindred  Institutions;  The  Chris¬ 
tian  Primary  School .  124 

VII  Missionary  Activities  of  the  Christian  Re¬ 
formed  Church .  145 

VIII  The  Christian  Reformed  Creed  and  Liturgy .  183 

IX  Distinctive  Principles  and  Practices  of  the 

Christian  Reformed  Church .  202 

X  The  Christian  Reformed  Church  Government 

and  Church  Order .  232 

Appendixes  .  247 

Index  .  251 


Date  Due 

X,'J  4x 

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